Could this day get worse?
by Ivy Kendall
Summary: I blame this story completely on lisaki2004, on the TNT board. Without their egging me on and dropping phrases to entice me, none of this would have happened. Aside from that bit of humour, this story has taken on a life of it's own, as Sharon deals with unfinished business from her not-so-distant past. As always, her trusty Lieutenant is there to make it all better.
1. Jack

Sharon rattled her keys in the lock to make sure Rusty knew she was home. She could hear the sounds coming from the gaming system or television in the living room, indicating that he was still up. It was just after 1 AM, and she knew he was ready to get on with things since his classes were coming to an end. She couldn't fault him for wanting to be free of his school burdens, but it was still only Friday, and he did have to get to class that morning.

Understanding? Yes, she could be. Wanting to deal with it? That was a whole other story. Rusty always complained that she was too hard on him, but he had no idea how many ways she gave him a head start to know she was about to return, allowing him precious seconds to fix whatever he had started, or to get out of the way with the evidence. Somehow he rarely used those seconds wisely, and she could never understand how someone living on the streets didn't sneak better. Ricky had it down to a science by the time he was Rusty's age, and Sharon was sure her daughter was born knowing how to be sneaky. Parenting, if anyone was to truly ask her, was part bribery, part threat, part reasoning, and a large chunk of ignoring. She was too tired to reason, threat or bribe. Why wasn't he helping her ignore his actions?

Sighing she rattled her keys just a little bit louder, but nothing. Perhaps he didn't hear her over the sound of the television, which for all intents and purposes, was too loud. While the walls in the building were well insulated, they weren't sound proof. She had to deal with it, she knew, reluctantly opening the door and pushing her way in.

The apartment was dark, save the light from the television. She couldn't see him sitting on the sofa. Perhaps he'd fallen asleep, she thought. That would explain why things hadn't been set right before bedtime.

She placed her bag on the table by the door, then toed her shoes off and kicked them under the table. Pulling her blazer off as she went, she started calling his name. "Rusty?" Nothing.

"Rusty, that's too loud and you have to go to bed." She said more loudly, then stopped dead when she saw who was on the sofa.

"Jack?" she practically screamed.

Asleep on her sofa was the man she believed was gone for good after last summer's power struggle on a case. He had done his usual sneaking away routine without a word to anyone, just the letter, but it had felt more final. Or perhaps she was the one who felt it was more final. Either way, she had changed the locks and packed away what was left of his personal belongings in her home. He had left with the suit. Why would he be back?

"Jack!" she demanded, shaking his foot to wake him up.

"Wha... what..." the man started, then looked around him. As soon as he saw her, he gave her a big smile that suggested either he chose to forget last summer, or all was forgiven. Knowing Jack, it could have been either one. The bottom line was always a new attempt to get into her good graces.

"What are you doing here, Jack?" she tried to glare at him, crossing her arms.

"Hey..." he said happily, then the tone changed, "Hey, something happened to my key, it's twisted or something. It wouldn't fit in the lock. Good thing that kid was here. Tomorrow we'll have to get another one cut from your key, okay?

Sharon rubbed her head wearily. It was going to be one of those visits... Jackson being on the defensive was much easier to deal with than Jackson pretending to be oblivious. She knew he was far too smart to be that stupid, but he liked to play the role of the ignorant. It was a way to wear her down, and as tired as she was, he probably sensed it wouldn't take long.

"I'll ask again, Jack, what are you doing here?" shaking her head, she looked up at him again, displeasure written all over her face.

"That's some greeting," he chuckled. "You're getting home awfully late, aren't you? Big case."

"Why are you in my home?" she tried again.

"Where else would I be when I'm in town?" he replied, as if it the most logical response in the world.

"Where's Rusty?" she sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere.

Jack reached for the remote and turned off the television. "Down in his room, asleep, I think," he said. "He seems better this year, Sharon, more confident. Guess all that business with the trial and everything helped.

"It did something," she mumbled, then headed down the hall and knocked on Rusty's door.

Slowly it opened, "Are you mad?" the teenager asked, looking guilty.

"What?" she couldn't quite make out what he meant.

Rusty took a deep, steadying breath. "Jackson was knocking on the door and it was like, really late, and he was yelling for you to let him in, and I thought at least if he's inside he won't bother the neighbours. Are you mad?"

She knew where this was heading, and how difficult Jack would be the following day, but she didn't have the energy to worry about it.

"No, I'm not mad," she sighed. "But I am concerned. It's late and you have school in the morning. I was going to go back downtown, but now with Jack here, I'll have to stay."

"You don't have to do that, Sharon," Rusty said, opening his bedroom door more fully. "I'll go to school tomorrow without argument. I'll even be early," he said with a half smile, hoping to show it was no big deal to him whether she stayed the night at home, or whether she went back to work. I can handle it. "I've got this."

Sharon looked back towards the living room, to see Jack plumping his pillows like a bird feathering it's nest. "I just..." she started.

"It's bad," Rusty asked. "The case, I mean. It's bad?"

"I hope not," was her reply. "I came home to change."

"Go back to work, Sharon. I'm okay with him here. Will you be okay?"

"Yes," she smiled at him. "Call me if you need me, okay? And don't let him talk you into anything... anything, understand?"

Rusty nodded, and smiled slightly when her realized she was not angry. Without much muss and fuss, she went to her bedroom and quickly replaced her office wear for something more weekend casual. She glanced down the hall to see that Rusy's door was closed, then she looked over at Jack, who was pretending to be asleep on the sofa.

Writing a quick note to Rusty, she slipped out the door.

This day couldn't get worse, she decided.


	2. Buzz

The drive through midnight traffic was more difficult than she had expected. Somewhere a party was underway, or a game was being played, or a film crew was hard at work. It was always something. She huffed as she put on the brakes for the seventh time in three blocks. Somewhere in the city, her squad was collecting the last of the evidence at the scene and making their way back to the office. She needed to be there first.

Putting on her breaks for the eighth time, she picked up her phone and began scrolling through the numbers. Finding the person she wanted, she pushed his name, then tapped 'speaker phone'.

"Yes, Captain?" came a wary voice.

"Buzz... hi, are you headed back to the station yet?"

"Uh..." the pause dragged on, and she envisioned him scanning the crime scene. "I'd have to say no, Captain."

Sharon sighed heavily. "Do you need me to come over there?" She cringed at her own words. None of them were children who needed supervision, and yet that was exactly what she had suggested.

"Let me get the Lieutenant," he said quickly.

She heard the dulled sound of cloth covered shoes, then deeper breathing as if he was climbing or moving quickly. "Lieutenant," a muffled voice said.

"Captain, what can I do for you?" the voice of her second in command came across loud and clear, complete with the annoyance everyone knew to ignore.

"Lieutenant, Buzz tells me you're still working. Would it be helpful for me to join you?"

She could imagine his eye-rolling, and did her own imitation of the act.

"You know what _would_ be helpful, Captain," he annunciated clearly, "is if someone would grab a late dinner for all of us, and have it ready when we returned. None of us had anything to eat before being called out."

"Oh..." she replied in surprise, her own stomach deciding to grumble. "I can do that..." then a thought occurred, "how do I do that?"

She heard a different type of grumble, then a faint "here".

"Captain, it's me again," Buzz was back.

"Buzz... good. The Lieutenant wants me to pick up food for everyone, but I'm not sure what I should do. It seems simple, but I know they all have their own preferences. Is there one place I can go to make things easer."

"I wish," he huffed.

Sharon waited for him to continue, but he didn't. "Buzz?" she asked at last.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Food?"

"That would be good, Captain."

"And what do you suggest?" she was trying hard not to loose patience with the man.

"I usually get everyone's order."

"Well... how about you do that and text it to me?" she hoped the tone in her voice conveyed more encouragement than annoyance.

"Right."

The phone went dead.

Shaking her head and sighing again, she stifled a yawn and waited.

Soon her phone vibrated and a message came through. The first text was for Lt. Provenza, whom she had no doubt was enjoying the idea of her running around downtown after midnight, trying to find food for everyone. She was amazed that someone his age could eat that much red meat and grease, and still function. Tao wanted something with Chinese eggplant, he wasn't picky. Sykes and Sanchez said Tex-mex, heavy on the beans and guacamole. At least they had agreed.

Then Buzz sent his own order. She had no idea he was that fussy. He didn't usually participate in large pizza orders, but she always assumed that was because his job didn't include analyzing evidence. She always felt bad for him, that he was the _de facto_ 'errand boy', and tried hard to make him feel as though he were on equal footing with the rest. Quinoa salad? Nothing with iceberg lettuce? Olive oil not butter? Chickpea meatless balls that weren't falafels?

Sharon rolled her eyes, grateful texts did not include the tone of her voice. "Any suggestions for restaurants?" she asked.

"Whatever's open," was the reply.

Great... just great... It was almost 2 in the morning, she was stuck in traffic, and she had to find four different types of restaurants _and_ have everything there timed for when they returned.

"Black olives, not green," came another text.

"Dammit..." she hissed, tossing the phone on the seat beside her.

The traffic wasn't moving, so she turned onto the first back street she could find, her GPS screaming at her to find her way back.

Turning off the GPS, she drove in the silence of her car, making lefts and rights whenever she could to get away from the main roads. The detours were taking her further out of her way, but with her food mission she doubted it would matter. She was going to be late regardless.

She turned left at the next lights, and suprisingly found herself by a large, all night supermarket. Why not, she decided and entered the building.

Inside she encountered a full salad bar and take-out shelf. Pleased beyond her wildest dreams, she set about making up meal boxes for each of her squad. She cringed at the grease dripping from the burger she picked for Lt. Provenza, and asked that it be double packed to keep the rest of the food safe. She was tempted for a moment to put one single green olive in Buzz's salad, but thought better of it. When she was tired and cranky, it wasn't the time to let her inner bitch loose without better provocation.

Sharon arrived at the office after her team. She could see them parked in their usual places in the underground parking garage. Collecting everything, she made her way to the elevator, stifling another yawn. She hoped someone had the coffee going, because she'd forgotten all about drinks in her quest for food.

"Ah, Captain," Lt. Provenza smiled, a little to sweetly. Sharon had no doubt he enjoyed sending her on the food run.

"For you," she plopped a bag on his desk, then handed out the others as she walked through.

"Captain," Buzz approached her tentatively, "I hope my food order wasn't too difficult."

Sharon feigned a smile, and lightly shook her head. "No, not at all, Buzz."

"I also wanted to apologize," he continued. "I forgot to give you Lt. Flynn's order. He wasn't in the room with everyone when I texted you."

"I'm good," Flynn mumbled, around the edge of his samosa.

"It's not a worry, Buzz. I managed to get something for everyone, and gained a new appreciation for your skills in this area."

"Right... okay. And thank you, Captain," he raised his bag. "I wasn't sure if you could find this."

Buzz turned away, but for a split second she swore she saw a glint in his eye. Had she been set up?


	3. Taylor

The clock seemed to be going backwards. She still hadn't had a decent cup of coffee, she realized, and knew she wasn't doing anywhere near her best work. Outside in the office her team was busily going over documents, pictures and videos, trying to find anything that would emerge as a pattern. Privately she had hoped Taylor would deny her overtime request so her people could go home, but it was the day before a holiday weekend, and overtime in the wee hours of Friday was still cheaper than weekend and holiday pay, and if they solved the murders, he would allow them to leave early thus making it lieu time, and cheaper still. He phrased it as not wanting the trail to run cold, but this early in an investigation there was no trail to run hot or cold. Her team knew the politics behind it, even if they didn't like it.

"Coffee, Ma'am?" Julio stuck his head in her office door.

"Oh yes," she practically cried. "The stronger the better."

"I hear that, Ma'am. I'll be back with a vat in 20 minutes."

He was being cheeky. She loved it when he was being cheeky. Having a team that was not only brilliant but very sarcastic was a dream come true. Although she really missed her FID crew, they took things far to seriously. The Major Crimes team did everything in their power to make it look casual. With this many years and solved cases under their belt however, the LAPD forgave them their arrogance.

Her cell phone ringing brought her out of her revery. "Hello, Chief," she answered, seeing the name across the caller ID. "I didn't expect to hear from you at this hour."

"I like to stay informed when my people are working," he said smoothly, sounding more like a politician than police officer. "What is happening with the investigation?"

Sharon bit back her quick retort, knowing it would only do harm, and stood up to get a better look at the murder board in the next room. "We are still trying to piece together the timeline, Chief. The victim, a Mr. Ted Baird, aged 35. Divorced. No children. We are looking through his files and website to find anything that might suggest someone has a grudge against him."

"Have you checked the ex-wife?" Taylor asked in a flat voice.

Closing her eyes, and shaking her head, Sharon worked to keep her response in check. "We will, Chief. Obviously that's the first person we will look at once the sun comes up. It's too early to be calling people at 3 AM."

"Captain," the voice was every bit as patronizing at night as it was in the office, "I'm sure I don't need to remind you that people who kill don't usually go home and go to bed afterwards. They like to escape the jurisdiction."

Sharon made the face of a blowfish, and slowly exhaled, then put the phone back to her ear. "Yes Chief, we all know that, which is why we have two uniformed officers parked out in front of her house."

"Captain, I didn't approve overtime for anyone except your team, now get the ex-wife in and interview her."

"Chief, she has been seen and identified. We have her on video in another part of the city half an hour before the murder. She is, by my estimate, 7 months pregnant and she had a booster seat and child carrier in her car. She is not going anywhere before the sun comes up, and there's no need to disturb her sleep before we have real questions to ask."

"If you let her slip through your fingers, Captain..." he warned.

"As I said, Chief, she is being watched."

"At the crack of dawn, you knock on her door and bring her in. You do it, Captain. You... since you want to play the mother card, then you can be the one to interrupt her morning."

"Chief?" Sharon was livid. Mother card? "I find that inexcusable. There is no need to disturb Mr. Baird's ex-wife. There is nothing to suggest she was even in the vicinity of the crime, let alone the murder. And having a sense of respect for another person does not mean I am playing a 'mother card'."

"Easy Captain, easy. I meant no harm."

Sharon could almost see Taylor with his hand extended, making his typical gesture to calm the room when he knew he'd gone too far. Damned snake.

"I thought you said our victim had no children."

"He doesn't, Chief," she replied tightly.

"Then who..."

"Chief, it is possible for people to have children in their second marriage but not their first."

"I am aware of that, Captain. I'm asking if it's possible that our information is wrong."

"That's something Lt. Tao is working on. To the best of our knowledge, Mr. Baird did not have children with his former wife."

"You know, Captain, that is one of the first questions I would be asking. If there are at least two children and one more on the way, perhaps the oldest child wasn't completely... legitimate, shall we say."

Sharon rolled her eyes and shook her head. She really hoped he was exhausted and not thinking straight, because his choice of wording was anything but politically correct or respectful.

"You still there, Captain Raydor?"

"Yes, Chief," she replied, hoping to sound less annoyed that she really was.

"Well?"

"Let my team do their job. They know what they are doing and will find the answers. If this oldest child is in fact the child of our victim, we will find that out. There is no point speculating at this hour. There are too many unknowns and we don't have any of the reports back for the lab or from Dr. Morales. In the meantime, they are combing through everything so that when the former Mrs. Baird comes in to be interviewed, we will know what to ask her."

"See that you do, Captain. I want this wrapped up for the evening news, so everyone can enjoy their long weekend in peace."

A Provenza-sized comment came unbidden to her mind, and it took everything she had not to say it out loud. "Understood, Chief," was what she finally managed to say.

As soon as she saw the light for the call had deactivated, she slammed the phone down on her desk, "Dammit," she muttered.

"Ah, Captain, Ma'am?" Julio looked surprised, not sure if he should enter the office.

"Yes" she said, more clipped than she should have.

"Coffee?" he offered, holding the larger cup in his hand. "Double shot of espresso... I just had a feeling."

"Good call," was all she said before grabbing it and taking a large gulp. The coffee burned all the way down. "Dammit!" she swore again, this time with tears stinging her eyes.


	4. Provenza

"A minute of your time, Captain," Provenza said, coming into Sharon's office and closing the door.

Surprised, she looked up, "What is it, Lieutenant?"

"We've got a hit on the fingerprints."

"Really?" her eyes became larger with anticipation. "Who is it?"

"Well..." he started hesitantly, sitting down across from her. "You're not going to like it. None of us like it."

"What part will I not like?" her eyes narrowed, no longer happy.

"When was the last time you got some sleep, Captain?"

"Don't change the subject."

"You are due for a break, don't you think?" he tried again.

"And you are due to be kicked out of my office if you keep trying to manage me. What is going on?"

Sighing, he looked at her and began to point, "Now you listen to me, you have been here since early yesterday morning. You have to get home, check on Rusty, and get some sleep. The rest of us can handle this, and we'll be sure to call you when we have something significant. You're about to fall over with exhaustion, and that would be bad for all of us."

Getting up from his seat, he marched towards the door.

"Uh-uh, Lieutenant... you are not pulling that one on me. Who is the hit? Obviously it's someone you don't want me meeting, as I assume they are being brought in shortly. And for the record, I am no more tired than the rest of you, so if I go, we all go."

She had seen Julio and Amy leave earlier, but hadn't thought much of it. They were doing their jobs as usual, and she was working with the assumption the Lieutenant had given them orders.

"Could you just trust me for once?" he practically begged.

Sharon sat back in her chair and crossed her arms, daring him to continue.

"Please..."

"Do I have a history with this person, Lieutenant?"

"Yeah, you can say that again," Provenza said under his breath.

Sharon sat straighter in her chair. "Who is it, Lieutenant? Do I have to declare a conflict of interest?"

"Well... no, I don't think so. It's not familial, if that's what you're worried about. Besides, it's just for questioning. We don't know if this is the killer or not."

She started rubbing her head, "Why are we going around in circles? If you are trying to be secretive, you are doing a poor job, Lieutenant. I will find out who this is, if I have to go out through those doors and ask everyone else."

"No one is keeping this from you indefinitely, Captain, we just need you to be... be somewhere else for about an hour or two. Don't you have something you can do at home, even if it's not sleeping."

"Lieutenant, might I remind you I am the head of this division, and there is nothing that should be happening here behind my back. If Chief Taylor calls again, how would I be able to respond? Sorry sir, but my squad is keeping me in the dark, you'll just have to ask me later? I don't think so, Lieutenant, so out with it!"

Sharon started to glare at him, she was not interested in playing any game with her people. Glancing out, she noticed Flynn was looking at her with a mixture of sadness and guilt, while Tao was watching from his desk, clicking his pen needlessly. "Oh, for god's sake..." she took in all three men, turning her full fury on the one in front of her.

"Doesn't a few hours at home sound like a good idea?" he said weakly. "A shower, perhaps, something to eat?"

"No it doesn't."

"Why not?" he tried to laugh it off.

Sharon seethed at him, "Because Jack is there, if you really must know."

Provenza's face dropped, and he leaned in to her, "What's he doing there? I thought you changed the locks. I told you to do it. Why didn't you listen to me?"

"I did listen, Lieutenant, and I agreed with you. I did have the locks changed, and told all of you where the spare key was here in the office. Rusty didn't want him walking up the entire building, so he let Jack in."

"Oh great," he said, throwing up his hands.

"My sentiments exactly, so no, I don't want to go home."

"Aren't you afraid for Rusty being there by himself?" he raised his eyebrow and turned slightly, hoping the argument would make her leave.

"Really, Lieutenant? That's the best you've got? I am not that easily distracted. Who is the witness?"

"Sharon..." he began.

"Sharon?" she replied. "You are resorting to my first name? Am I going to hate it that much?"

"Yeah," he sighed, then looked at Flynn who was still watching outside her office window. Provenza nodded, and Andy entered.

"No luck?" Andy asked, "didn't think so."

"Yeah... but it was worth a try."

Andy handed Sharon a folder.

Looking from one to the other, Sharon took the folder then opened it and scanned the report inside.

"You can't be serious," she gasped, looking inside.

"We ran it twice," Andy said apologetically as he leaned over and pointed to the note on the bottom.

"Oh... Lieutenants, I am most definitely not going home," she said emphatically.

"You can't be part of the interview. We can't even do the interview without an outsider or a DDA in the room."

"Do you have a current address?" she asked, looking at the clock and seeing it was already past four in the morning.

Provenza nodded and said softly, "Julio and Amy are headed there now."

"Alright, call for a DDA. See who's available. This has to be done by the book, am I making myself clear?" she looked from one man to another.

"Crystal," Provenza grunted.


	5. Morales

"So... Jack is back," Andy said, trying not to look at her while the elevator went down to the basement morgue.

"Rusty was worried Jack would wake the neighbours at midnight, so he let him in."

"And how's that going?" He acted like he didn't want to know, but then again he did.

"Don't know. I took the coward's way out and left. Rusty is eighteen now. He'll be graduating over the summer. Jack will try to bribe him, sweet talk him and heaven knows what else, but after the disappearing act he did last year, Rusty has his number. And quite frankly, I don't want to deal with him."

"Good thing we've got a murder then, I guess."

Sharon snorted. She was so tired. "_Argh_..." she groaned, rubbing her forehead, "what's wrong with me. I'm avoiding people."

Andy shrugged, "Sometimes that's the best way to deal. When was the last time you had a vacation? Christmas a couple of years ago, maybe? Easter you got away for a few days."

"Why?" Sharon looked up at him, the corner of her lips turned up in a slight smile, "Lt. Provenza tried to handle me earlier. Are you picking up where he left off?"

Andy chuckled, "Nope... I'm the smart one."

"Oh, I see," she laughed.

The tension in the elevator dissipated once the topic of Jackson's arrival had been acknowledged. There really wasn't much to it, as far as she was concerned. Andy seemed to agree. It was always curious to her how protective the squad was of both she and Rusty. It touched her heart deeply, and she told them regularly how much it meant.

"Remind me to give the Kid a refresher course on the reason behind changing the locks and calling for back-up."

"He meant well."

"Yeah... I know..."

Silence surrounded them the rest of the way, and continued as they donned their paper gowns and entered the morgue.

"Greetings," Dr. Morales said cheerfully. "I wonder if you could try to find victims in the daylight for the next little while. It's five AM, and I should only be waking up right now, going for a cleansing walk before I indulge in my morning latte."

"We'll see what we can do, Doctor," Sharon said sarcastically.

"That's all I ask. Okay, Mr. Ted Baird... he had a sad life before he ended up on my table. Shame..."

"What can you tell us?"

"Testicular cancer survivor, for one."

"Testicular cancer? His ex-wife has children. Could they be his?" Sharon asked, remembering the conversation with Taylor a few hours before.

Morales shook his head. "It's possible, but I doubt it. He has one testicle, and the scar show the other was removed some time ago. The treatment probably left him infertile. Oncology is getting better, but it's still a matter of the cure being worse than the disease. It's interesting that we are starting this conversation with his sex life, though."

"Why's that?" Andy asked.

"Our dead Mr. Baird may not have been able to have children, but that didn't stop him from trying."

Sharon looked up with anticipation, "He had sex before he died? Were you able to get DNA?"

"Of course I was," the doctor sounded offended, "what do you take me for?"

"Sorry, Doctor. By all means, continue."

"Right. So yes, our victim had sex not long before he died. A female, if you're interested. I send the swab to the lab, and you'll get the results when they have them. Cancer had spread to his stomach. It wasn't very far along so I highly doubt he would have known unless he had a recent visit with his Oncologist. Given how long ago his testicle was removed, I think he easily passed the five year mark. I'd find his doctors, if I was you."

"Could this be a mercy killing?" Andy asked, pointing to the one gunshot wound at the temple.

"Motive is your job, Lt. Flynn, not mine. All I can say is medically, he wouldn't have felt anything at this early stage."

"What can you tell us about the cause of death, Doctor?"

"He was shot," Morales answered flatly.

Sharon rolled her eyes, "I mean..."

Raising his hands to calm the Captain, Morales continued, "I know what you mean... I'm a little caffeine deprived at the moment, you'll have to excuse me."

"We all are, Doctor," Sharon assured him.

"Okay, one shot to the head, but it was not suicide. There's no gun power residue on his hands, nor is there a mark on his temple. The bullet went through however, so it was still fairly close range. Either our killer had very good aim, or they got lucky. Death was instant."

"How much time was there between our victim having sex and his death?"

"Minutes, I'd say. There was seminal fluid in his urethra. If I was to guess, he was still basking in the afterglow. His body didn't react, so I doubt he saw it coming... pardon the pun," Morale smirked.

Andy rolled his eyes. "Anything else?"

"Not really," the doctor said with less mirth. "I did find a few loose hairs in his hands, and send those to the lab as well. They looked dyed, though. Don't know how helpful that will be. Bleached blonde."

Sharon nodded, taking a long look at the victim. With the exception of the bullet wound in his head, and the autopsy sutures, he looked like he was sleeping. "No bruising anywhere, no other wounds, no marks of any kind. What made him a target, I wonder..."

Morales was about to open his mouth when he saw Andy shake his head. "You will have my full report in an hour, Captain," he said instead.

"Thank you, Doctor."

Out in the hallways they pulled off their paper gowns. "Why do I have the feeling this man was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Sharon looked at Andy.

He shrugged. "Definitely with the wrong people last night."

"We have to learn more about him. Have Amy and Julio returned yet?"


	6. Sanchez

Andy and Sharon stepped out of the elevator, and headed towards the murder room. The autopsy didn't tell them much, and they had to wait until the lab results were back.

"What say we run away with no forwarding address, and forget they ever saw us?" Andy tried to lighten the situation.

"Don't tempt me," Sharon replied drily, the idea not fully dismissed. "Some days I feel I've done this long enough."

"Mmm-hmm," he agreed.

The two rounded the corner in the main work room, and looked around. Sharon saw Julio at his desk, and took a deep breath. He was there.

"You okay?" Andy asked quietly.

Sharon nodded, her mouth tight. Everything about her posture was tight, if she was honest with herself. "I always had a feeling I'd see him again, but this is not how I imagined it."

Andy snorted, "Lucky you."

"Indeed. Det. Sanchez," she said with more force than was necessary, "where is our suspect?"

"He's with a uniform in interrogation room A, Ma'am." Julio did not look happy nor comfortable with delivering his message.

Sharon nodded her acknowledgement, "And Det. Sykes?"

Julio looked to Provenza, then to Andy. Seeing the latter cross his arms, he looked up slowly at the Captain. Sharon noted his discomfort, but already had her arms crossed and her head tilted, waiting for him to continue.

"Ah..." he stumbled, "Det. Sykes is with the second suspect in room B."

"Second suspect?" Andy looked surprised.

"Yeah, it was bargain day down at Fools-R-Us," Provenza intervened, "we got two for one... aren't we a fortunate team."

Ignoring Provenza, Sharon keep her focus on Julio. She couldn't miss seeing how he shifted, and failed to look her in the eye. If there was one thing she could guarantee about her team, it was that they didn't try to hide the unpleasantness of their work from her, and treated her like she was one of them. There was no special soft-pedaling of information, unless it became personal... she just realized what was going on.

"I know this person too, don't I, Detective? Is that why you are trying to avoid telling me who you found."

"Well, Ma'am, to be perfectly honest, I don't think you've ever met her or spoken with her."

"You're avoiding, Detective." Sharon moved towards Julio, then sat down on the corner of his desk. He had something to tell her that he was convinced she didn't want to hear. How did he come to that conclusion, she wondered.

"Okay, Julio, forget for a moment the who, just tell me the how. What did you and Det. Sykes find at our suspect's house? How did you find another person? Give me the details of bringing them in."

The tension left Julio slightly, and he nodded his understanding.

"Ma'am, it was almost 6 AM when Det. Sykes and I were finally able to rouse our suspect. He was sleeping in his apartment, and not alone. At first he started to talk trash, telling us we'd ruined his life and he wasn't about to do anything for us. Det. Sykes had enough after awhile, and arrested him as a Person of Interest."

"And you agreed with Det. Sykes' actions, Detective?" Sharon asked.

"Yes, Ma'am. It became apparent the witness was not going to come willingly. Interviewing him at his residence was not only impossible, due to his lack of cooperation, and inadvisable, given the nature of the evidence we hoped he held."

"So you arrested him, brought him down here... and has he invoked?" Part of Sharon hoped he was their guy, but a larger part hoped he was a nuisance they could just send on his way.

"No Ma'am, he is waiting to face you in the interrogation room. He feels he deserves answers more than he needs to give them."

Andy snorted, "Yeah... like that's ever going to happen."

Sharon looked at him and gave him a warning glance, but he was having none of it.

"You're not going in there, Captain. Not now, not never."

Her shoulders dropped as a drool look crossed face. She turned to him and didn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice, "So I've been suitable informed, Lieutenant."

"Just sayin..." Andy shrugged.

Sharon shook her head. All of her men could be so damned stubborn. She wasn't a china doll, nor was she a hothead, prone to making bad decisions. She was calculating, and wanted to figure out what this group of people had to do with each other. She wasn't about to give anyone reason to discount testimony in the courts.

"Continue, Det. Sanchez," she said, returning to look at her detective.

"Yeah... tell us, Julio, did the dirtbag run and did you have to throw him to the ground, pummeling him into submission? It would serve him right," Andy said from behind her.

"I certainly hope not," she looked from Andy to Julio, silently begging him to tell her there had been no violence.

"Him fight?" Julio said with derision. "He's all talk. Sorry to disappoint you, Lieutenant, but he's indignant, not itching for a fight.

"Ah well... a guy can hope..."

Sharon shook her head, and was just about to speak when she heard the clip of stilettos on the floor.

"Why am I here?" DDA Emma Rios said, hands on her hips, and obviously not impressed to be called into work early.

"It's your lucky day," Provenza responded in a sing-songy manner. He adjusted his tie, then picked his jacket from the back of his desk chair, and put it on. "We need to interview a suspect, and we need an outsider to be part of the proceedings."

"I don't do interviews!" she replied in horror and disbelief.

Andy couldn't resist. "It's a live body, not a dead one."

Both women glared at him in response.

"What?" he shrugged, shaking his head at their matching expressions.

"Don't worry," Julio said more gently to the DDA, "I'm going in with you. It will be fine."

Provenza shook his head while Andy and Sharon rolled their eyes.

"Find out what you can, gentlemen," Sharon bid them well. "I'll be in electronics. And whatever you do, don't promise him an audience with me. I've already had more of him than I can stand for one day."

"What's that all about?" Rios looked at Sharon then Provenza.

"Never mind. Just come be the annoying..." Provenza saw her glare at him, "... yet brilliant lawyer we know you are."

Rios sighed, then took the proffered file from Provenza's hand and followed him towards the interrogation room. As they entered, she looked up and smiled slightly at the man in front of her. "I'm DDA Rios. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Dunn."


	7. Tao

Sharon stood in the middle of the squad room, looking from her office to electronics, to the hallway leading to the interview rooms, and then back to the white board. For the first time since moving to Major Crimes, she was at a loss as to what needed her attention first. The white board showed the pictures of the victim, shot once through the head, quite possibly by a female lover with bleached blonde hair. The ex-wife of the victim had brown hair, all but excluding her from guilt. Sharon felt she was running backwards with the case, and was sure it had as much to do with Daniel Dunn being at the scene of the crime, as it had to do with the crime itself.

Her phone kept buzzing in her pocket, adding to her distraction. She had no answers for anyone, so the best she could do was ignore the interruption. Somehow the puzzle had to make sense, but so far they did not have enough evidence to see a picture emerge. Walking closer, she looked at the picture of the ex-wife. She was significant, but Sharon was convinced she was not the murderer. The woman was too regular in her movements, from what they had gathered from various recording devices around the city... very methodical. There was no rush, no looking over her shoulders, no look of panic or fear.

"Lt. Tao," she said, still looking at the board, "what have we learned about the former Mrs. Baird? Her finances? Her family? When did they divorce? Has she remarried or does she simply have someone new in her life? And it's almost 7 in the morning, so when should we bring her in for questioning?"

Tao shuffled papers, then clicked a few screens. "From what I can see here, Captain, she divorced Mr. Baird four years ago. Very nasty divorce for him. She took him for everything. At the time she had two daughters. Then 18 months ago she had a third daughter, and now she's pregnant with her fourth child. Her finances are very steady. She owns her own business, a large house in the hills, several rental properties... and I checked, she does not own the buildings where either Ted Baird or Daniel Dunn reside. No new marriages since, but she did end an engagement almost two years ago... let me see..." Tao continued to look through the file.

Andy had been watching Sharon, and now he moved closer to Tao to hear what he was reporting. "I'm getting a bad feeling..." he said to no one in particular.

Sharon nodded slightly, then backed away. It was always her physical response to information that was too emotional to handle. Something in this woman's story felt very familiar. "What is her name, Lieutenant?" Sharon asked, glancing first at Andy, then back to Tao. "Her full name."

"Right... her current full name, is Analyse Yvonne Smyth-Baird."

"What the hell..." Andy started.

"Oh my god," Sharon said at the same time. "That's Daniel's 'Annie'."

"Awe, geez... just what we need. Can we confirm who she is to Dunn, Tao?"

"Uh..." the Lieutenant logged into a county database, "yup. Marriage license on file for Daniel Dunn and Analyse Smyth-Baird."

"This day keeps getting better and better," Sharon muttered as she walked to the white board and picked up a marker. Writing the woman's name out in full, then the diminutive 'Annie' underneath, she puffed her cheeks then blew. "Lieutenants, she's the tie between these two men, but she's not the prime suspect."

"You still want us to interview her though, don't you Captain?" Tao had been watching her closely from the moment she piece things together. "I think you need to ask her some questions."

"Yeah, like is that Rusty's little sister," Andy said from the back of the room.

"I'm more interested in what happened to create that night in the first place. Lt. Tao, I want you to pick up Annie, along with the officers already outside her home. We need her to come down here and put the pieces of the puzzle in order for us. If I'm understanding correctly, she was married to our Mr. Baird until just after her second child was born. Then she starts a relationship with Daniel, but ends it around the time he signed away custody of Rusty. Then six months later, she has another child. She is the boss in these relationships, if anything Daniel said two years ago was accurate."

"They could be chumps," Andy started. "She could be managing things from the background, with these guys as her lackeys. She says how high after they've already jumped, and controls the outcome when they land. Didn't he say a lot of times 'Annie wouldn't like that', or that she would be angry? I wouldn't write her off completely, Captain."

Sharon nodded, "You make a good point, and we have to remain open to all possibilities. I don't know, though..." she turned back to the stills taken from the videos of Annie around town. "I still think she's a dead end as far as Ted Baird's murder. She's not anxious, nor does she seem smug. She had already ended things with those relationships, so why go back?"

"What did Dunn have to say about this Baird guy? Were they friends?"

"No... In fact the impression I had was Annie had convinced Daniel that her former husband was a terrible father, which was why she was looking for someone like him."

"Yeah, great guy that he was. I wonder what he told his fiancé about everything the other year."

"Regardless of he told her," Sharon replied, "I think it's safe to work with the assumption she will already have formed an opinion about our squad. Now, whether that opinion is relief for helping her be rid of Daniel, or annoyance that her engagement is over, we have no way of knowing."

"I think the fact that she is now expecting her third child should tell us she wasn't completely devastated, Captain."

Andy nodded, "Tao has a point. Unless she's the queen of rebound relationships, she already had her next Daddy-candidate waiting in the wings. That's not a lot of time between her third and fourth pregnancies."

"I agree. Okay Mike, go get Annie, and try to encourage her to bring her daughters with her. Getting DNA samples of all those children will be easier if they are here. We'll set them up in the conference room, but we'll have to be careful to shield them from our other witness. If the girls are here, I'm not interested in them seeing Daniel. If it's just Annie, we'll play it by ear."

"Right, Captain," Tao stood up, clipped his gun in place and left the room.

"How you holding up?" Andy asked, walking up beside her when it was just the two of them.

Sharon rubbed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head slightly in an attempt to let the latest developments fall in place. "Well... it's not the worst day of my life," she laughed slightly, no humour evident. "And I'm riding the line of personal conflict. I want answers from these people that have nothing to do with Ted Baird. Andy, I need your help keeping my focus." The last was said with her looking up at him, pleadingly.

"You got it," he assured her, reaching under her hair to gently rub the base of her neck.


	8. Sykes

How long Amy Sykes stood there, neither one knew, but when she cleared her throat, they both looked at her. Andy pulled his hand away from the back of Sharon's neck, but reached down to squeeze her forearm to remind her he was still there for her.

"Yes?" Sharon looked over at the young detective.

"Uh... Lieutenant, can I speak with you for a minute?" Sykes said hesitantly.

Sharon and Andy exchanged glances where he shrugged and she nodded her head in Amy's direction, then walked into her office and pulled out her phone to see who had been calling her.

Andy came closer to Sykes, hands in his pockets, and shrugged again. "What's up, Sykes?"

Amy looked past him to make sure the Captain was out of earshot, then leaned in closer to keep her voice low. "We've got a problem with the other witness, Lieutenant."

"What problem?"

"Well... when we went to pick up Mr. Dunn, he was uncooperative and there was a woman with him. She wasn't happy either."

"Yeah, that's what Sanchez said, but what's the big deal? Witnesses who think they're suspects never want to come in. You guys did it right, brought them both in and we'll get around to interviewing her after we deal with Dunn. Just tell her to cool her jets."

Amy looked like she was ready to squirm. "It's not that simple, Lieutenant."

"Make it simple, Sykes."

"Sir, the witness claims she's Sharon Beck."

Silence rang through the hall. Amy waited for the full weight of her words to sink in, and Andy felt like he'd just been kicked in the gut. Neither moved.

"Excuse me?" a voice said behind Andy.

He turned to see the horror in Sharon's eyes, as she looked from Flynn to Sykes, and back again.

"Uh... just because that's who she says she is, doesn't make it true, Captain. She looks like she's coming down from a bender. She could be anyone."

Sharon closed her eyes as her mouth tightened, and she shook her head slowly. When Amy tried to speak again, she raised her hand to silence her, then took a cleansing breath, blowing it out slowly.

"What the hell..." Andy started.

"Tell me everything, Detective," Sharon said with a stronger voice, her Captain's mask falling into place.

"Sure, we went to pick up the witness... that being Mr. Dunn, and at first he wouldn't answer us. We knew he was home, and saw a woman open the curtain to look at us. That's the one claiming she's Rusty's mom. I kind wondered what was going on with them together since we were under the impression they hadn't seen each other since high school..."

Flynn groaned, then looked at the younger woman, "Sykes, just the facts."

"Right," she took a deep breath, "my apologies. Anyway we saw her and banged on the door again. This time Dunn opened the door and demanded to know what we wanted. We told him that he was wanted for questioning and please come with us. Then the woman got into it and said they weren't going anywhere without a warrant. I assured her we could get that done, and we wouldn't be as nice if we had to come back. She laughs, and then Dunn says introductions are in order. He tells her we were a couple of the officers who took Rusty from him, and we knew where he was."

"Oh, great..." Flynn started. Sharon reached out her hand to touch his arm, begging him to stop.

"Yeah, exactly. So this Sharon Beck, she changes her behaviour right away. No longer is she this flaky bleached-blonde house guest, she becomes fierce and starts demanding her son back. Lt. Sanchez tells her we are not at liberty to speak about Rusty, and please come downtown, the both of them. Dunn resists, saying no way in hell is he going to be forced into anything by us, and that he's already getting a lawyer to sue us. Beck was totally different. She grabbed her sweater and said let's go, she wanted to say a few things to the woman who stole her son."

"Stole her son? That's rich."

"Andy, please..." Sharon begged.

"Alright, alright..."

"We arrested Dunn, but Beck practically ran to the car. I took her into the interview room after we got here. She's demanding to speak to you, Captain. I'm doing what I can to put her off, but we can only keep doing that for so long, if you know what I mean."

Sharon nodded, then crossed her arms and moved away. She started pacing slowly, going to the murder board, then back through the desks spread out through the center of the room, then returned. Finally she stopped and looked at the board.

Andy and Sykes watched, looking helpless, waiting.

"Bleached blonde?" Sharon finally asked.

"Ah, yes, Captain. Shoulder length, bleached blonde, looks like she could use a good shower."

"Tell Ms. Beck she doesn't get to speak with me or anyone until we get a DNA sample."

"Can we do that?" Amy asked out loud.

Andy glared at the younger woman, "Do it!"

Suitably chastised, Sykes seemed to recoil with a simple, "Yes, Sir."

"Explain to the witness we have to confirm her identity. Tell her the life Rusty has been living these past few years is highly sensitive and confidential, and I have to be assured she is in fact who she says she is. Tell her we will rush the test to make sure, and as a mother she must appreciate the protection of her son's privacy is paramount. Then tell her I will speak with her."

"Captain?" Andy looked at her with surprise.

"Lieutenant, we need to get her talking. Don't you remember what Dr. Morales said? Bleached blonde hairs..."

"In the victim's hands, and he'd just had sex. Dammit, you think that's her?"

"Proximity means we have to ask, and this is the best way to get her to tell us what she wants. If it means dangling me as the prize, then I will do that. Anything to keep Rusty safe and free of the pain his parents always bring. She's not the only one with questions, Lieutenant. I want to know why she abandoned her only child for her boyfriend. I want to know why she stood him up again at the bus. I want to know how any mother thinks she has the right to be indignant and demand answers after what she did."

"Sharon, you're not going to get those answers, and you know it," Andy said gently. "She probably can't even answer that for herself."

"I know," she said softly. "Does she have any idea what is feels like to stand outside his door and here him cry after I've done something for him that his mother never did? My heart breaks for him daily. I would give my life for him, and she thinks she can demand I answer her? Andy... I just..."

"Sykes, go get it done," Andy dismissed the detection, who couldn't get away fast enough.

When it was just the two of them, Andy came a little closer, hands still in his pockets. Sharon appreciated that. She was glad to have his support but she couldn't be touched at the moment. "What did I do to the universe to deserve a day like this?" she asked him.

Andy chuckled, "Just lucky, I guess."

"Oh my god, Andy... first Jack, then Daniel, then Annie and now Sharon? And I have Taylor breathing down my neck, and all of you walking on eggshells trying to keep me from falling apart."

"You're not going to fall apart," he assured her. "I can't vouch for all the furniture being in one piece when you're done, but you'll be fine."

Sharon looked at him for a second, then lowered her head and laughed. "Dammit, it's only eight in the morning, and already it's the day from hell."

"Just deal with one thing at a time. Who's going to be first?"

"First? The coffee shop across the street," she started to walk towards the door, "and you're paying."


	9. Daniel

"Okay, let me get this straight. You are claiming that this department has no right to detain you based, on their actions, and yours, almost two years ago."

"Not mine... just theirs" Daniel's finger pounded the table to drive the point home to DDA Rios. "I was in the conference room, right across the hall," he pointed violently, "and I was blackmailed into giving up my son."

Provenza chuckled and shook his head, "That's not what happened, and everyone who was there can tell you."

"Yeah, everyone there was your team. I had no one on my side, no one who saw how all of you stood like some Roman phalanx around my son, keeping me from what was mine."

"Mr. Beck, yes, I am familiar with how protective this division is when it comes to that child," Rios eyed Provenza.

"We take care of our own," he shrugged.

"My own... not yours. Rusty is my son and you took him away from me. I'm getting a lawyer and they will prove you broke the law. I will get him back."

Rios sat for a minute, tapping her pen against the table, then looked at Provenza. "And what do you have to say?"

"What? It's ancient history," he shrugged, and gave his cheshire smile. "Besides, Daniel is here to answer questions about our current situation, not reinterpret the past. We need to get down to business about Mr. Baird."

"Ancient history? Is that what you tell yourself? Ancient history that you took my son from me. That you stood around and let Sharon Raydor force me to decide between giving up my son and going to jail?" Daniel was practically screaming. "I lost everything because of you. I lost my son, I lost Annie, I lost the girls I really loved, and I lost my baby. It's all your fault!"

In the electronics room, Sharon sat forward. "Did he just say his baby?"

"Yup," Buzz and Andy said at the same time, then Andy continued. "Daughter number three, I'm guessing.

"We need a DNA test on those girls," she looked at Andy.

"Yup..."

Turning back to the screen, the three watched Provenza continue to provoke Daniel.

"Now, now... don't get carried away. That's not what happened at all." Then he looked at Rios and shrugged his shoulders, "It's not. We were just acting in the best interests of the kid."

"Best interests? How was it possibly his best interests?" Daniel was practically foaming. "You leave him with a single woman who works all the time, and carries a gun. She could be killed at any time, or have him killed. And you think that was better than a home with a loving father, a wonderful step-mother, and three sisters? In who's world is that the best interests of my son?" Daniel's gestures were expansive.

Sharon reached over to grab the mic and brought it to her mouth, "Keep him talking about the girls and Annie." Imperceptibly both Rios and Provenza nodded in response to the instructions sent to their ear pieces.

"Well, you have to admit," Provenza chuckled, "for a kid who's always been an only child, three sisters would have been a bit much. Besides, I thought you told me this Annie of yours had two girls, not three. I forget how old you said they were. Five and three, was it?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but they were six and four when you ruined my family. They are eight and six now, and the oldest one just had her birthday, which I had to miss," Daniel continued his seething. "I was the only father those girls knew, and you ripped us apart. Did you ever thing what would happen to them?"

"Pshaw... we never even met your fiancé or her girls. How could we do all that damage," Provenza's sing-songy voice could be heard rattling around the room.

"If he talked to me like that," Andy said, leaning over Sharon, "I'd kill him myself."

"Mmm... he is rather gifted when it comes to annoying people."

Buzz snorted and Andy chuckled. "You don't know the half of it."

"You didn't have to meet them. You did enough as it was. Without Rusty, I had nothing."

"But if she loved you, then why would she care? After all, you two were engaged and making a life long before any of us came into it." It was clear to everyone in the room that Provenza's body language was pushing Daniel into further anger.

Running his fingers through his hair, he glared at Provenza. "You son of a bitch, you set it up so I had to deny my role as a father. Annie couldn't look past that. If I gave up my own son, then how could she depend on me to be a father to her girls?"

"How can that even be related?" Provenza asked him.

"How... how can that be related? Oh my god," Daniel rolled his eyes. "Are you always this stupid? Having a good father for her children is very important to Annie. She has very high standards, and because of you, I failed the test. I could not be trusted with her girls any longer. I pleaded, and even tried to tell her what had happened, but she wouldn't listen.

"She told me I was just like her ex-husband, you know that?" Daniel looked from Provenza to Rios, his voice going from anger to pain, "She told me I was like Ted. She told me I wasn't any more interested in being a decent father to those girls than he had been. Can you imagine that? I stayed home with those girls from the time they were babies. I wiped their tears. I nursed them when they were sick. I taught the oldest to ride a bike. I loved those girls like they were my own, and I couldn't wait to have another baby with Annie. I was never happier in my life. I was counting down the days until the wedding, when those girls could start calling me 'Daddy'. I wanted that more than anything."

Rios had been listening the whole time to the angry exchange between Daniel and Provenza, staying out of their volleys. Now that she had his attention, she asked the questions that needed answers. "That must have been really tough for you, and I am truly sorry for your loss. If you were living with them from the time they were little, didn't they call you 'Daddy' anyway?"

Daniel cupped his hands, and looked down. "No... Annie didn't want them confused until it was legal. She had full custody of the girls. She told me her ex-husband had been negligent and almost abusive. She wasn't going to encourage them to love anyone like a father again until he was fully committed to the family. The littlest one called me 'Dada' one time," Daniel smiled at the memory. "Annie got upset about that, but she calmed down when she realized Jessie was only trying to say 'Daniel'. She was fiercely protective of those girls."

"And yet she let you take care of them. Annie must have trusted you."

"It just made sense. I was between jobs. Annie had to work a lot. It made more sense for me to move in and take care of things rather than hire a nanny. I miss that so much."

Reaching across the table, Rios took Daniel's hand and squeezed it. In the control room Andy marveled at the gesture. "Looks like Rios has been taking a page out of your book."

Sharon looked up at him and grinned. "She's really not that bad, you know."

"Yeah... you keep telling yourself that."

Chuckling, she returned her attention to the monitors, noting that it was already nine in the morning.

"Did you ever get a chance to find out what Ted Blair did to loose custody?" Rios asked gently.

"That's the thing, Ted didn't do anything. He told me later when I finally met him, that Annie lied about the whole thing. He wanted to be part of his girls' lives, and she completely shut him out. I want to be part of my daughter's life too, but in the year and a half that my little girl has been alive, I've only ever seen her from a distance." Daniel's voice was getting raw. "You people weren't the only ones who took a child from me, Lieutenant," he looked up at Provenza. "I can't raise my daughter, either."


	10. Rios

"What did you do to that guy?" Rios demanded as soon as she and Provenza returned to the murder room, Daniel being left alone in interrogation.

"We didn't do anything," Andy cut her off. "We gave him a choice, jail or no jail."

"He said something about that. Jail for what?"

"Poor, sobbing Daniel Dunn used Rusty's face for boxing practice," Provenza said, anger from the memories running high. "Rusty told Daniel and Annie what life had been like on the street. Apparent Annie freaked out, and Daniel decided he needed to 'discipline' the kid."

"Discipline?" Rios' head whipped around.

"I can show you the pictures some time, if you'd like. Rusty was given the choice, have Daniel arrested or use what happened as leverage to terminate Daniel's parental rights.

"Blackmail."

Sharon shook her head, "No... he had a choice, and Daniel chose his own freedom over Rusty, just like we thought he would. I had Gavin Baker draw up the paperwork so it was legal and binding. Daniel knew what he was doing."

Rios rolled her eyes, then put her hand on her hip. "Really? And you justified that to yourselves? That is coercion. You could all be arrested for that stunt. How... oh my god," she waved her hands in the air, "how do you keep thinking you're above the law?"

"Listen, lady, we _are_ the law."

"No, you're not!"

Andy grunted, then walked away to control his own temper.

"DDA Rios, you don't seem to understand..."

"No, I do understand," she cut Sharon off, "I understand just fine. You lured a man here under the pretense of seeing his son, only to put him in a closed room, with no advocate, and threatened to take away his freedom if he didn't do things your way. That, Captain, is why we have a legal system with lawyers. My god, what is wrong with all of you? Just because you wanted Daniel out of Rusty's life, you thought it perfectly acceptable to force the issue? The court should have decided Mr. Dunn's paternal rights, not you."

"Emma..." Sharon started again.

Rios was having none of it, "No! No, Captain. If anyone else in the LAPD had tried that, you would have raked them over the coals. You seem to think just because you are smarter than everyone else, and you wrote most of the police bylaws, that you get to interpret them to your benefit. Is there a loophole you won't jump through?"

"Now that's enough, Rios!" Provenza came around his desk and glared at the younger woman. "I've had my issue with the Captain over the year, but she is always, always playing it fair."

"Right, unless it includes someone she's personally connected to, and then she will do anything to work the system. I had to deal with that all of last year. I don't know what you see in that boy that makes you break every rule for him."

Sharon was livid, and lowered her voice as she leaned in, "Don't you pass judgement without even knowing the circumstances."

"Pass judgement?" Rio looked at her with incredulity, "you people just told me what happened. That's not Daniel's story, it's yours! And now I have to go against my own ethics, unless I want to upset every single case you've ever finalized in your whole career."

"Ethics," Provenza snorted.

Emma looked over at Provenza, then turned her narrow glare back on Sharon. "Rusty is your weakness. I don't care who you think he is to you, he is still a street kid hustler, from a broken home, who has two living parents. If anyone, _anyone_, is to decide his legal standing, it is the courts."

"We didn't want him to be a witness in another trial." Sanchez had been standing back, listening to the entire scene.

"That's not your call, Detective," Emma whipped around to look at him. Then she returned to look at Sharon, and spoke in a softer voice. "Look Captain, I have worked with you for a year now, and I know you do absolutely everything in your power to bring justice to the victims. I know that. But when I see you with Rusty, and when I hear stories like this, I have to question whether you have the ability to separate your work from your home life."

"You don't know the whole story," Sharon's voice hadn't softened at all.

"Don't I? We have Sharon Beck, by all accounts a drug addict who slept around and didn't pay attention to her son beyond what he could do for her. Then we have Daniel Dunn, a very good looking guy who obviously works out a lot to stay appealing to the opposite sex. He was working as a glorified nanny for someone else who wanted to use him, and getting paid in room, board and sexual favours. He's the type who thinks he has the upper hand, and doesn't realize how manipulated he is by the women around him. Then we have Rusty, a kid who did not choose to be born into this situation, but that's just the way it happened. A kid desperate for a way out of his underclass life. And finally we have the Captain who can make grown men shake. She is used to getting her way, and usually she's right. But here is a boy who she can save, and all she has to do is separate him from his old one.

"Now, Daniel can scream all he wants, but after two years no judge or lawyer with any sense will look at his case, especially once they know child abuse was involved. But that still doesn't make it right or just. You are wrong this time, Captain. You. Are. Wrong!"

The room was silent after Emma finished. No one wanted to be the first to move, to breathe, to speak. Sharon stood there, staring at the DDA, tears starting to pick at the back of her throat and around her eyes.

"You..." Sharon started, her voice gravelly with the unmistaken sound of unshed tears, "you're welcome to leave, DDA Rios. We can call someone else in, it's only ten in the morning."

Emma shook her head, "You don't get rid of me that easily. I am staying to make sure you follow the law. Mr. Dunn is not to be railroaded again. If he is not the killer, he walks out of here. If he is the killer, you are not the one who will be arresting him. Do I make myself clear?"

Not waiting for an answer, Emma marched past Sharon towards the stall she always used when she was working with the Major Crimes team.

"That bitch," Provenza mumbled.

Sharon let out a long, slow breath, then asked the team in general, "Has anyone heard from Lt. Tao? Do we know when he'll be returning? And someone call the lab. I want those test results ASAP. I'll be in my office."

She moved away from them, passing Andy as she went.

"That's it?" he asked, showing both his displeasure and his surprise at her lack of response to Rios.

"That's it!" she said firmly, and didn't look back.


	11. Jack, again

"I'm here to see my favourite girl. Is she in her office?"

Sharon felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. What was he doing at her work? She quickly looked at the clock and noticed it was well past 11 AM. He was probably going to suggest lunch, she figured. Was one hour without catastrophe too much to ask of the day?

Quickly her mind ran over her options. She could run out the back door to avoid him, but he would continue looking. She could hide in her office and not answer, but the blinds were open and she would have to close them and lock both doors in a matter of seconds, surely giving away her presence. She could excuse herself on an errand, but then he would wait for her. She could excuse herself to go into electronics and leave Provenza to deal with him, but then she would have to deal with the Lieutenant afterwards. What was that old camp song she used to sing with the kids? Can't go around it, can't go over it, can't go under it, gotta go through it. Dammit...

Standing up to her full height, she pulled on her Captain's mask, and headed out to deal with the intrusion.

"Ah, there you are. You didn't come home last night and I was worried about you."

"Jack, what are you doing in my office? To the best of my knowledge you are not a court appointed attorney, and have no legal reason to be here." She could see her team trying to look away. Sometimes when they did that, it bothered her, but this time she was grateful her witnesses were trying to appear as nonexistent as possible.

"Now, now..." Jack chuckled, "is that any way to greet your husband? I've come to take you to lunch."

Got it in one, she sighed.

"Jack, I'm working. We are in a middle of a case, and I'm not going anywhere with you." She crossed her arms and leaned more to one side, hoping her stance would make her determination clear.

She never knew if Jack got it and choose to ignore her message, or if he didn't get it at all. She was pretty sure it was the former, but the latter couldn't be discounted. As she stood there, she saw his face recognize they had an audience. Ever the showman he wasn't about to look like a loser. Dammit.

"Awe Shar, you've had a hard night. This case is too much for you. Just come with me, we'll have a nice lunch, and it will relax you. Come on," he moved into her personal space and put his arm around her shoulder in an attempt to push her out the door.

"No Jack," she said, removing his annoying arm from her shoulder. "I'm working, and work might not mean much to you, but it means a great deal to me. You can leave and enjoy your lunch, but I'm not going with you. Goodbye."

She turned on her heal and tried to get to her office quickly without appearing to run. She hoped he would be stunned enough not to follow her. Her hopes were dashed when a hand reached out to stop her door as she tried to close it.

"Sharon," he said more quietly, "we don't need a scene in front of your staff. Let's just get out of here and we can talk."

"Talk about what, Jack?" she tried to be casual, seeing how far he would dig himself in before she could bury him.

Jack chuckled, "Talk... just talk, like we did in the good old days. Just you and me and a couple of steaks, and spend the afternoon reconnecting. It's been too long since we did that."

"And who's fault is that?" she asked, striving to keep the bitterness out of her voice. On complete analysis, it wasn't what he said that bothered her. His manipulation had lost much of it's power years ago. It was the words behind the words, the message that said she should accept everything he did, and be waiting for him with open arms when he came home. As if his arrival was something to be heralded. Perhaps it had been the first time, maybe even the second or third, but they were well into the double digits now, and the novelty was long gone.

"Don't be like that, Sharon. We never get anywhere when you're like that."

Sharon glared at him, her willingness to play nice having evaporated. "Jack, your key didn't work for a reason. I changed the locks. I've changed a lot of things over the years, including my ability to be talked into anything by you. Now it's quite obvious you have no respect for my work, and to be perfectly honest, I don't care what you think. It's also quite obvious you don't want to hear what I'm telling you, but I'm going to tell you again. No! No, I will not have lunch with you. No, I will not spend any time talking with you. No, I have no interest in reminiscing. No, I will not leave my work just to make you happy. No, you are not welcome here. Have I made myself clear?"

"Ah... Captain, the witness is ready for you," Andy said from behind Jack.

Sharon looked from one man to the other, not pleased with either. "Fine Lieutenant. A minute in my office, if you don't mind. Jackson, goodbye.

Andy followed Sharon into her office and closed the door. Outside she could see Jack trying to save face, smiling and nodding, then pointing at her office. She figured he was trying to convince her team that she was overly stressed from work and to be easy on her. If he didn't annoy her so much, she would feel sorry for what he had become.

"Lieutenant, while I appreciate you attempting to help, please don't try to save me from Jack again. I can handle him."

Andy stood in front of her, not exactly sure what to do, but realized his role at the moment was as her subordinate. "Yes, Ma'am."

Sharon sighed, as she went around the edge of her desk and sat down in her chair, then leaned over her desk. "Andy, you have to understand, if Jack gets even the slightest hint that others feel I'm vulnerable to him, he won't give up." She gestured to the seat across the desk so he could sit down.

"Sorry, I guess I didn't think of that."

"It's alright."

"No, it's not. I know you can handle it. I just didn't want you to have to, given how bad this day has been going."

Sharon smiled, then leaned back in her chair, her head resting on the headrest. "You know what it's like... remember when you were a kid and all you wanted to do was ride the tilt-a-whirl, and after the first time you got off someone told you the secret to a successful ride was to keep your eye fixated on something solid and immovable, like the steering wheel, or on the seat? That's what dealing with Jack is like. For years I went along with the ride, then it wasn't as fun and I needed to keep my eye on something solid. I'm okay, even if I looks like I'm about to fall over."

"I really am sorry, Sharon. I can stay out of the way while you focus on your something solid."

Sharon tilted her head and smiled at him, wondering if he would ever understand how solid he was.


	12. Megan, Jessie and Noni

A knock disturbed them.

"Ah... Ma'am?" Sanchez stuck in head in the door when he heard her calling for entry, "It's noon, and Lt. Tao just called. He says he's bringing Annie and her girls in. He promised them lunch and wanted to know where to take them when they arrived. The break room doesn't have blinds, so anyone can see them, he said. I've already covered the board so the girls won't see the pictures."

Andy looked from Julio to Sharon. "The big conference room?" he suggested, "it's bigger."

"Mmm... it's also closer to the interview room where Daniel is sitting. I don't care what happened between the adults, but those girls don't need to be more upset than they will already be by coming to the police station. Let's put them in the smaller room," she pointed at the door connecting her office to a smaller meeting room, "and tell Lt. Tao to bring them in the back way."

"Yes, Ma'am," Sanchez nodded, then left the room and closed the door behind him.

"What are you thinking?" Andy studied her.

Sharon glanced at Andy but didn't answer him. Instead she pursed her lips and started tapping her finger on the arm of her chair. She was formulating a plan of approach, and wanted to think it through. "Daniel said Annie puts having a good father above everything, right?"

"Yeah..."

"And Rusty said Annie was obnoxiously protective of her girls."

"Uh-huh..."

"And we have no reason to suspect Annie of being involved in Ted Baird's murder. They are connected through those girls, but all evidence points to her having moved on and not looking back."

"Yup, from Baird _and_ Dunn."

"Right, so here's what I'm thinking. I want to make this interview all about the girls. Let's share lunch with them and find out what we can about each of them. An eight and a six year old can be very talkative, given the proper motivation."

"Yeah, that's true... so what are you thinking?"

Getting up from her desk, Sharon walked to her credenza and opened one of the doors. She pulled out a box and set it on her table. "It's times like these I'm glad I have a toy box in my office," she looked up at him.

Andy chuckled, "I still can't believe that's part of your standard work equipment. Your reputation used to say you'd eat children long before you'd play with them."

"Very funny," she rolled her eyes, then picked up the box and shoved it in his direction.

"Me? What do you want me to do with this?" his amusement changed to discomfort instantly.

"Your grandsons are the same age. You know how to play with children, I've seen it."

"Yeah... boys. I forget what to do with little girls."

Sharon snorted, "Yeah, right. Nicole told me the night of the ballet, that when she tries to remember the good moments from her childhood, she always remembers how you used to play with her. You're on deck, grandpa."

"Fine," he grumbled, "but you're going in with me."

She smiled a little too sweetly, "Wouldn't miss it for the world." Hearing the sound of young voices heading in their direction, she nodded her head to the smaller conference room. "Go on in, I'm going to tell Buzz to start monitoring us, and then I'll join you."

It didn't take long for the girls to explore every corner of the conference room, then turn to Lt. Tao expectantly. "You said we would have lunch," the middle girl narrowed her eyes at him.

"Jessie," Annie warned her, "manners."

The six year old knew she had over stepped, and offered a sheepish, "I'm sorry."

"That's alright," Tao looked from the girl to Annie, "I have a son, and when he was little manners and hunger were mutually exclusive. I promised you lunch when you got here, but I have to order it. What would you like?"

"Pizza!" one exclaimed.

"Chicken!" demanded another.

The girls glared at each other for a minute, seeing who would have their request honoured.

"I think both pizza and chicken would be a good idea, Lt. Tao," Sharon said, entering the room fully. Then she turned to Annie and held out her hand, "Sharon Raydor, I'm the Captain of this division."

"Annie Smyth," was the reply, laced with discomfort and embarrassment.

Sharon took note. This was not the haughty woman she had been expecting, but perhaps that would change as they started interviewing her. The toddler Annie held in her arms snuggled closer to her mother, but looked at Sharon in curiosity. She couldn't help wonder if she was looking at Rusty's little sister. Nothing reminded her of her foster son, but genetics were a funny thing. A tug on Sharon's jacket distracted her.

"Can we really have pizza and chicken?" the eldest girl looked up at Sharon.

"Of course," Sharon said, squatting down to eye level. "When my kids were little, they could never agree, so we always had both."

"I think that's smart," the girl continued.

"What's your name?"

"Megan. What's yours?"

"Sharon. What kind of pizza should we get, Megan?"

"My favourite is cheeseburger pizza, and Jessie wants chicken nuggets with spicy sauce."

Sharon smiled and looked from Megan to Jessie. "Spicy sauce?" she said, as the middle girl gave a huge grin. She was missing her two front teeth, and Sharon thought it was the most adorable sight she'd seen in ages. "Alright," she then looked up at Lt. Tao, "you have that? An extra large cheeseburger pizza and the largest order of chicken nuggets in spicy sauce they have, please. With fries, salad and drinks for everyone."

"Are you going to eat with us?" Jessie looked from Sharon to Andy, who was busy digging toys out of the box Sharon kept in her office.

Andy shrugged without looking up, "Sure... why not? It's lunch time and I'm starved."

"How starved?" the middle one asked, kneeling down beside Andy. She placed a hand on his knee for balance as she leaned over to look in the box.

"Starved enough to eat little girls!" Andy growled playfully, then tickled her on the back of the neck.

Jessie squealed while Megan giggled, and Sharon gave her first genuine smile of the day.

Megan left Sharon's side to join her sister, and the two girls started playing with the building blocks Andy had been stacking. The baby saw the action and wanted down, so she could get at the toys also. Annie let her go, and Sharon watched the woman's expression. Daniel was right about one thing, she adored those girls beyond words.

"Come?" Jessie looked at Sharon, and waved her over.

Obeying the command, Sharon went to the group gathered around the toy box. "What did you find?" she asked, kneeling down beside them.

"Look!" the toddler exclaimed, holding up an action figure that was almost too large for her hands.

"That's Noni," Megan said by way of introduction. "She can't say much."

Noni toddled over to Sharon and held the toy closer to her face, "Look!" she said again. Sharon picked up the little girl to place on her lap. "Look!", she said a third time.

"I am looking. She's my favourite action figure," Sharon told the baby. She couldn't resist inhaling the scent of the young girl, who was warm and smelled like soft summer days. Andy's delight added to her contentment, as she noticed him grinning crookedly at her. The day was starting to improve.


	13. Annie

Pizza and chicken arrived half an hour later, to the delight of everyone. It had been ages since she'd eaten, Sharon realized, and coffee was not enough to sustain the level of energy she needed for the day. Digging in with gusto, she took a bite of pizza and smiled as the flavours erupted in her mouth.

"You love pizza?" Megan asked, talking around the piece in her mouth.

"Meggie, don't talk with your mouth full," Annie chastised her daughter, and Sharon couldn't help smile. "Some thing never change, I guess," the younger woman said in response.

"They sure don't," Andy spoke instead. "Okay, now..." he turned from Annie to the girls, "just so we don't get things mixed up, I'm putting names on cups." He lifted each of the girls' cups carefully, making sure to touch only the base, and wrote their names. Then he picked up Annie's and did the same. "So, what should we put on this cup?" he asked the girls, picking up Sharon's drink. "Should we put Sharon or Captain?"

"Captain?" Jessie laughed. "That's a funny name."

Andy couldn't resist and squatted down beside the girl, winking as he went, "She's in charge, just like a pirate Captain. All of us have to do her bidding or we walk the plank."

Sharon scowled, but Jessie giggled, "She's a pirate Captain? And do you all have swords?"

"Yup, just like this," Andy kept the game going and grabbed one of Jessie's fries, then started a sword fight with the one she was holding.

"Do you have kids?" Megan's voice broke through the laughter.

"I do," Andy said. "I have a daughter who used to be just like you, but now she's a grown up. I used to play with her all the time when she was little."

Megan sighed wistfully, "I wish I had a Daddy to play with me, but my Daddy is in heaven."

The mood in the room changed drastically, as Andy looked from Megan to Sharon, then Annie.

"Your Daddy would have played with you all the time, Sweetie," Annie smiled sadly, then looked over to Sharon, "I think it's time for us to go to your office, isn't it?"

Nodding, Sharon stood, "It's right next door. Andy will stay with the girls and we can keep the door open so you can hear them."

"It's probably better that we close it," Annie said. The baby had fallen asleep, so Annie placed her in the stroller, then followed Sharon towards the door. With one last look and reminder to the girls to behave, the two women left.

"You'll want this," Annie said, handing the baby's cup to Sharon. "Noni is the only one allowed to drink from it, and the girls know it. You can get her DNA from there."

"I..." Sharon stuttered, sitting down in her chair.

Putting her hand up to silence Sharon, Annie sat down across from her. "Look, your Lt. Tao told me Ted was in trouble, and I was needed down here to answer some questions. He asked me to bring the girls. Let me save you the time, he is not their father, and Daniel is not Noni's father. I'm not dumb. I saw the way Andy was holding the girls' cups to put their names on them. If that doesn't work, I will consent to a DNA test."

Pulling her Captain's mantel around her to gain control of the conversation, Sharon nodded thoughtfully and pulled her phone from her pocket to record what was said. "I apologize. I wasn't trying to make things difficult for you."

"It's okay. After the way I treated Rusty the one time I met him, I don't blame you for thinking the worst. I'd like to explain, if you'd let me," she looked at Sharon, unsure of what to expect.

"Why don't you tell me everything, from the beginning." Sharon tapped the phone to record, and waited for the woman to speak.

"The beginning..." Annie looked above Sharon's head, out into the cloud filled sky, and shuddered slightly as she sighed. "The beginning was me and the love of my life, dreaming big dreams and building our company. Then it was me holding his hand after he had left the fertility clinic, having made his last deposit and not knowing if he'd live to see his children. Then it was me watching him fade right in front of me as cancer ate him alive. Matthew Smyth is the father of my children, and your records will show he died before any of them were born."

Annie stopped to smile slightly, as she let the full weight of her words come to rest.

"We were under the impression..."

"That the girls were Ted's," Annie finished for her. "I know, and Daniel thinks the same of Noni. The girls have only ever been mine. Their birth certificates have Matt's name on it. When I divorced Ted, my lawyer and I spoke to the judge, and she agreed that custody was not part of the proceedings."

"But didn't the girls know him as their father?" Sharon was puzzled by how sharply Annie drew the line.

"Ted knew. He'd been in the hospital with Matt. He knew the whole story, and he tried to be there for me and the girls. I wanted a father for them so badly, and Ted seemed a good substitute. But after awhile, after I started getting over my grief, I realized I wanted Ted to be Matt, and he was never going to be. Ted was a trucker, and then I found out he was a dealer. I didn't want that anywhere near my girls."

Sharon perked up at the news, "So Ted Blair dealt in drugs. Did you meet any of his associates?"

"No," Annie looked directly at Sharon, and shook her head. "I kicked him out the first time I found him stoned. He'd kept that hidden for years, but I guess the pain from his surgery was too much. Maybe he thought he was comfortable and I'd look the other way, I don't know. Anyway he was stoned in front of the girls, and I told him to leave. We had a pre-nup. The house was mine, the girls were mine, I had nothing to do with him except money and a legal marriage that was barely consummated." Annie realized what she said, and blushed, "Sorry, too much information."

"Everything matters, even the little things."

Annie pursed her lips and nodded, "Daniel wasn't the father I wanted for them, either."

"That's really not ..." Sharon started, realizing the conversation was veering away from the case, and into the complex relationship these two women had with Daniel and Rusty. She didn't want this part of the conversation recorded, and she was far too curious to hear what Annie had to say about her reaction to Rusty the night Daniel beat him. "Let's stop here, and we can pick it up later," she said, then turned off the phone's recorder. She looked at Annie and willed the woman to explain what had gone wrong almost two years before.

"Look," Annie squirmed in her seat, "if I ever meet Rusty again, I will apologize. I was taking fertility drugs for almost three years before I became pregnant again, and by then Daniel was staying with us and had asked me to marry him. He was good with the girls, so I thought maybe... maybe this time I'd find the right father. And then I finally found out I was pregnant and didn't loose the baby, then Rusty showed up, and I freaked out when I heard he'd been on the streets. After Ted, I wasn't going to have that around my girls. Daniel said he gave up Rusty to be with me, and it was like every siren in the world went off in my head. He gave away the rights to his own child! Who does that?"

Annie looked at Sharon, with a mixture of guilt and bewilderment. It was obvious to Sharon that the younger woman had struggled with the role she played in Rusty's abandonment by his father, but at the same time she was fighting for her own girls. It had been so simple back then, from Sharon's perspective. Daniel was bad for Rusty. But was Emma right? Had she wanted Rusty for herself so much that she ruined what could have been a good family for not only Rusty, but for the three little girls she had just spent an hour playing with?

"We've got a problem," Provenza burst into Sharon's office without knocking.

Sharon and Annie immediately stood up, then Sharon pointed at the door that lead back to the girls. "Go in there and stay with them. Tell Andy I said for him to stay with you. Whatever you do, keep the door locked and the blinds drawn."


	14. Sharon, not that one, the other one

Sharon walked out of her office and stopped dead. When Provenza said they had a problem, a million visions went through her mind, but the display in front of her was not one of them.

"Rusty..." she said cautiously, "I wasn't expecting you today." She walked slowly to him, not sure how to get his attention.

"Obviously," was his bitter reply.

Sharon cringed. She should have warned him, but then she hadn't had much time to process the information herself, and... oh, it didn't matter now. The damage was done and it was beyond her ability to fix.

"How are you, Baby?" the other Sharon asked, smiling tentatively at her son.

Rusty stood still, not moving even a facial muscle, as he stared down the woman who abandoned him time and again.

Sykes stood behind Sharon Beck, looking as helpless as they all did. "I'm sorry, Ma'am," she said in the Captain's direction.

Raydor nodded, and Sykes fell back, looking dejected.

Sharon huffed in disgust, "What did you expect? I came here to find my son, and you kept me locked away like a suspect for hours. You, the high and mighty Captain around here can't lower yourself to answer questions about the son you stoled."

Provenza had been hovering in the background, watching things happen, but when Sharon Beck started to lay her venom, he stepped in. "Okay," he said, pushing into her space like a steal enforcer, trying to move her back, "that's enough. You get in that room and you'll get your turn."

"I ain't going nowhere!" Sharon yelled in his face, the sneer of derision clearly displayed, as if she had the upper hand. "I got rights of a mother and no one can stop me."

"This is not the way to..." Raydor began, making her way closer to Rusty's side. He still hadn't moved, but the closer she came, the more she could hear his heavy breathing. She'd give anything to know what he was thinking, but she had to settle for knowing his world had just been turned on it's axis. She longed to touch him, but wasn't sure how he'd react.

"You ain't in charge of me and my son," Sharon continued, glaring at the woman. "You and your rich clothes and your fancy job and your group of thugs don't get to tell me what to do."

Sharon Beck tried to move closer, but Sanchez also stepped in the way, physically blocking her from moving closer to either Rusty or Sharon.

She might have been a pretty woman once, Raydor thought to herself, the idea alone was strange to process. She probably had been, before the drugs and alcohol claimed not only her looks but her very existence. She looked like Rusty, that much was clear. She had the same eye colour, same set of the jaw, same nose. The hair was different, however, and that snapped Raydor back into focus. Whatever else might have been going on, she was still a possible suspect and Sharon had to make sure she was questioned.

"Det. Sanchez, Lt. Provenza, please escort Ms. Beck back into the interview room. I agree that she had been overlooked for too long. It's already two in the afternoon, and we have some questions for her."

Both Sanchez and Provenza moved towards her, which got Rusty's attention. "What?" he looked from his mother to the rest of the squad, and finally to Raydor. "Questions? Did she kill someone?" He knew very well how it worked, and looked over at the board to see what was going on. Fortunately it was still covered, offering him no information.

"I'm the one with questions, you bitch!" Sharon Beck yelled, moving backwards in spite of herself. "Rusty, you come on. You and me have some catching up to do." Then she looked at the two menacing men, "Don't even think of touching me, I know my rights."

"Why..." Rusty turned to Raydor, pain and accusations evident in his eyes. "Why didn't you warn me?" Not waiting for an answer, he turned and ran from the room.

She wanted to call him back. She wanted to run after him. She wanted to turn time back so he hadn't walked into the squad room. But all she could do was watch him run around the corner, helpless to make it better. She had dreaded this encounter on his behalf for almost two years, ever since the bus incident that underscored how truly alone he was in the world. That dread had been exponentially larger since learning of Sharon Beck's presence in her interview room earlier that morning. She had once made a promise to him, one that had never been voiced, to do everything in her power to make him feel loved and wanted. And now it was all for nought. A warning... why hadn't she simply called him to give him a warning?

Stealing herself for the conversation she was about to have, the Captain replaced the mother, and she turned towards the direction her squad had sent Sharon Beck. When she entered the room, she saw Sanchez standing sentry, as he often did, while Provenza was trying to get Sharon to sit instead of pace the length of the room. Everything stopped when Sharon saw the Captain.

"Where is he?" Sharon demanded.

"I don't know," the Captain answered honestly, sitting down as she spoke. She had no desire to look the woman in the eye and expose her own worries.

"You chased him out of here!" Sharon yelled, standing over the table, using her arms for support.

The Captain sat still, not giving in to the treat. An interesting desire settled over her, however. She almost wanted Sharon to hit her. Partially to feel something beyond numb for what just happened to Rusty, and partially to charge the woman with Assaulting an Officer, so she wouldn't have to deal with her.

Sharon Beck knew the limit, however, and seethed instead, "Where is my son!?" she enunciated each word.

"Let's get down to business, and then I'll be free to look for him," the Captain said, opening the file she had grabbed from Sykes on the way in the door.

"I ain't talking to you about nothing until I get my son."

"Your son," Raydor tried to keep her words flat, not putting emphasis that would expose her contempt for the woman's claim to motherhood at this stage in Rusty's life, "is now eighteen years old, and has the right to decide who he will speak to and when."

"You don't get to tell me how old he is. I know how old he is. I was there when he was born." Sharon continued to huff, "Now get off your ass and bring him back!"

Provenza started his deep chuckle, the one designed to make the hearers know they were getting into dangerous territory. "What the Captain is trying to say is we have no legal obligation to make him do anything, since he is not part of a crime. You, however, are a person of interest in the death of Mr. Ted Baird, and you are dangerously close to being charged with Interfering in an Investigation and Assaulting an Officer."

"What?" Sharon tried to look defensive, but fear started creeping into her expression, "I didn't do nothing to no one." Then she looked at Sharon, "And what do you mean. I didn't do nothing to Teddy but give him the time of his life."

Now they were getting somewhere. "Ms. Beck, we have evidence to prove you were at the scene of the murder, that you were in fact having sexual relations with the victim, and that you were present at the time of his death. Start talking!" Raydor knew the test results weren't back, but it didn't take much to place the woman in the room with the victim and killer.

"An answer for an answer," Sharon snarled, acting as though she had the upper hand.

"Were you having sexual relations with our victim, Mr. Ted Baird?"

"Yeah... what of it. Teddy and me had a lot in common. Now your turn, when are you bringing my son back here?"

Raydor paused long enough to give Sharon a look that bordered on derision, then proceeded. "How did you first meet Mr. Baird?"

"Hey, I asked you a question. That's the deal, me one, and then you one." Sharon crossed her arms, and sat back in the chair, looking smug.

It took all of Raydor's energy not to reach across and slap the woman. She knew she was legally on shaky ground as it was, and had to make sure she did not provide Sharon Beck with anything a lawyer could use in the future. Every bit of self-control she had was needed.

"How and when did you first meet Mr. Baird?" she asked again.

Sharon Beck smiled like a cheshire cat, "Na-ah... you first."

That was it. No amount of professionalism would compel her answers, so she tried another tact. "Gentlemen," Raydor said, closing her file and rising from the table.

They all headed to the door, leaving a surprised Sharon in their wake, "Hey... what about me?"

Provenza's dangerous chuckle emerged again, "You don't get it. You don't have any standing at the moment, so until you are ready to cooperate, you can sit."

The door closed with the sound of finality.


	15. Rusty

"So... I was thinking to myself what an awful day I was having, and I started wondering if anyone else was having a horrible day as well..." Sharon walked up to Rusty, and put her hand gently on his shoulder before sitting down across from him at his usual spot in the Chess Park.

"Guess it wasn't too hard to find me."

"Well, I could always ask Lt. Tao to check the GPS on your phone," she smiled slightly.

"Oh man, you wouldn't, would you?" Rusty sat up in horror, causing Sharon to snort.

"No... misuse of department resources for personal gain? I think I wrote rules about that sort of thing." Sharon smiled more as Rusty sighed and relaxed a bit. "Besides, I've told you before, anywhere you go, I'll find you." Reaching across the table she squeezed his hand quickly, expecting to pull back just as fast. She was surprised when he held on to her hand and wouldn't let go. "Tell me what you're thinking, Honey..."

"What I'm thinking... yeah..." he sighed. Looking everywhere but in her eyes.

The day around them was bright and active, a stark contrast to the turmoil beneath his skin. "Why now?" he asked as he shifted in his seat. "I mean seriously, why now? Why not two years ago, or on my birthday... or never. How about never?" The last was asked with so much pain.

Sharon's smile tightened slightly as she looked at the boy who was as dear to her heart as the children she bore, and she wished she could make it better. "I'm sorry, Honey. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the minute I knew she'd arrived."

Rusty shrugged, then pulled his hand away from her as he shifted in his seat. She knew it was simply to help him get control of himself, and not a comment on his feelings towards her, but she missed the warmth of his large hand in hers. "I'm not mad. I mean I was, the shock was like... huge. But I've been around enough to know you always try to get the facts before telling family members anything. I know you would have told me."

Nodding, Sharon made sure he was looking at her fully before she continued. "I would, yes. I had every intention of telling you, but this case seems to have a life of it's own. There's more."

"More?" Rusty asked weakly. "I'm gonna hate it, right? Did my mom, like... kill the guy or something?"

"Mmm... right now we're going for 'or something', but to tell you the truth, we just don't know. Rusty, when we found your mother she was with your father." Sharon let the words sink in.

Rusty squawked... "Daniel?"

She could only nod and wait as he looked everywhere, trying to find something that would help him made sense of everything.

"They were together? Like together together?" he groaned, "oh god, I don't want to think about that."

"Rusty," she was quick to assure him, "the were in the same apartment, that's all. Dets. Sykes and Sanchez found them when they went looking for your father."

"Daniel, his name is Daniel. Fathers don't go using their sons for punching bag."

Sharon pursed her lips and nodded. He did have a point. "Fine, Daniel."

Rusty looked like he was trying to formulate his next question, so she waited patiently. She would give him the information in bites he could handle.

"So..." he started after some time. "So... like Daniel and my mom were responsible for some guy being killed?"

"We're not 100% sure, but we do have evidence putting them at the scene around the time of the man's death, yes."

"You're not trying to talk around this, right? You have like... DNA or something, and Dr. Morales said it had to be the same time?" He was so obviously struggling.

She hated to continue, but half the story would not be fair. "We have evidence, Honey. I can't tell you what it is, obviously, but you know we wouldn't say anything unless we were sure."

"Did they shoot someone?"

Now is was Sharon's turn to squirm, "I don't know, but when I left, I gave orders to have all three of our suspects tested for gunfire residue." She waited for him to pick up on the next bit of information. He didn't take long.

"Three... you have three people? Daniel, my mom, and who? Who else, Sharon?" When she didn't answer right away, he looked at her desperately, "Am I gonna hate it that bad?"

"You might," was all she offered.

"Just tell me."

"Alright. The victim's ex-wife is also your fath..., Daniel's ex-fiancé. It's Annie."

"What?" he yelled, as he pushed up from the stone stool as quickly as he could. "You... you're telling me that Daniel and my mother killed Annie's ex-husband?"

"Oh, no Rusty..." Sharon got up and moved as close to him as she figured he would allow. She knew the news would be a shock, and wished she could reassure him. "We don't know enough yet."

"Obnoxious Annie? Was she with Daniel too?"

"Do you want to walk and talk?" she asked meekly, hoping that movement would help him.

"Yeah.. yeah, alright... so was she? With Daniel, I mean." Rusty picked up his pack and swung it over his shoulder, then headed towards one of the paths, making sure to keep his strides slow enough so Sharon didn't have to rush to keep up with him.

"No, Lt. Tao brought Annie and her girls in just before lunch. Rusty... she wants to apologize to you."

"She should. She was horrible."

"I'm breaking her confidence, but I should tell you she was on fertility drugs at the time, and her hormones would have been all over the place."

"What's that mean? Was she trying to get pregnant with Daniel?" then another thought came to him and his looked like he was going to be sick. "Please tell me Daniel doesn't have another kid...please," he pleaded.

Sharon patted him on the back, and left her hand lingering on his shoulder. He didn't shrug it off or try to get away. "No, Daniel does not have another child, at least not one that I know about. Listen Rusty, I know Annie was hateful to you, and all I can say is from her perspective at that time, she was trying to protect her daughters. That doesn't make it right, it just makes it understandable."

"But Sharon," Rusty looked so hurt, "I wouldn't hurt anyone. You know that."

She nodded, "I do... and I think Annie realized she jumped to the wrong conclusion. All I can say is she had her reasons, but she was very quick to tell me she treated you badly and she wishes she could change things."

"I... I don't need to listen to her, do I?"

"Of course not. She might want to apologize, but you don't have to accept."

Sharon spoke in the tone Rusty was familiar with, that tone that said she expected him to do the exact opposite of the out she was giving him, and face things like a man. "You know I hate when you do that, right?"

"Do what?" she asked innocently, then smiled.

"Alright, I'll... I guess I'll let her apologize and tell her it's okay. Fertility drugs really mess someone up that bad?"

"Oh..." Sharon chuckled, "you have no idea. And not to change the subject, but why where you even at the station this afternoon? It's three o'clock. I thought you were going out after school."

"Yeah... well I was, and then I got a call from Jack saying you were having a bad day and could I try convincing you to come home and take a break."

Sharon groaned and shook her head. "I can't believe he did that. I'm sorry, Honey."

"What?" Rusty looked at her confused, "you didn't do anything. I figured Jack was trying something, so I thought I'd just go down and see how you were. You're like... totally good with knowing when to call it a day. And if you don't, you have Flynn and Lt. Provenza who will do it. Jack's not even s'posed to be here."

"Mmm..."

During their conversation, they managed to return to the entry of the park directly across the street from the Department. Without preamble, they both looked at traffic and crossed when the light changed.

"Just Annie, right? I don't have to see the others?"

"It's up to you, Rusty."

"Yeah... right..."


	16. Tao, with more

"Captain," Tao called as soon as Sharon and Rusty returned, "the lab work is back."

Sharon turned to Rusty, not wanting him to hear what was about to be reported, but he was already a few steps ahead of her. "Sharon, it's okay. I'll wait in my usual spot and try not to listen. But like seriously... if my mom or Daniel is responsible for this guy's death, I'd rather know now."

Looking at the young man in front of her, she suddenly realized the last few months had made her shift emphasis from 'young' to 'man'. He was not the hot-headed teenager who came to her years ago, the one convinced he was grown, while still so obviously a child. That person had left somewhere after the trial, as a future without the pressure of the court system became his new day-to-day reality. He deserved the respect and honesty that any extended family in a case received.

"Rusty, I'm not trying to hide the results of our investigation from you because you can't handle it. I know you can. That is not an issue for any of us. What I'm doing is following procedure, and keeping the evidence contained until we can piece it all together. I'd do this in any situation."

Rusty rolled his eyes but smiled slightly nonetheless, bringing a chuckle from Provenza. "She can pull out anything to justify herself, we all know that, but in this one, the Captain is right."

Turning to glare at her second in command, Sharon heard more chuckling. This time from Dt. Sanchez. "You have something to say, Detective?"

"Ah, no Ma'am," Julio said, sitting higher up in his seat.

"Good. Rusty?" she said, waiting for him to obey her. When he was around the corner and out of sight, though not out of ear shot, she imagined, she looked to Buzz. He nodded and headed into the cubicle with Rusty. Reasonably assured Buzz would keep Rusty occupied, she turned to Lt. Tao. "Okay Mike, what do we have?"

"Right... DNA from the girls is back, and it's just what Annie Smyth said. The girls are full sisters, she is their mother and their father is the late Matt Smyth. I double checked the fertility clinic and county records. Everything she's told us checks out. Dates, times, medical appointments. And we've got video showing she wasn't anywhere near the crime scene. I used her bank information and work records, and it doesn't show her anywhere near Dunn, Baird or Beck since she kicked Daniel out of her house almost two years ago. If she has anything to do with this, then she is very good at covering her tracks.

"Daniel Dunn... finger prints and DNA at the crime scene, but not near the body itself. It could be another 'Daniel', but Mr. Baird's calendar has him meeting with someone of that name at least ten times over the past three years."

"Three years?" Sharon quickly put that together, "that means he knew our victim while he was still living with Annie and while they were engaged. I wonder..." she said, turning to look at the small conference room where the blinds were still drawn, "I wonder if Megan was witness to any of that."

"You really want to bring a child into this?" Tao looked at her, eyebrow raised.

Sharon whipped around to look at the man again, silent understanding passed between them for a moment, containing memories of what Rusty had been dealing with from the moment he came into their lives. She shook her head, "Definitely not. We will have to prove the connection another way. Alright, what else?"

"Well... while evident proves Annie was not at the scene, and Daniel might have been there, we can definitely place Ms. Beck with the victim moments before he died. DNA from the victim's body is a match. The hair was no good because of the dye-job, just as Dr. Morales suspected."

Closing her eyes for a minute and shaking her head, she sighed. "I was afraid of that. Residue?"

"That's the interesting part, Captain. There is nothing on anyone's hands. We still don't have the person who fired the gun."

"Ah, Captain," Provenza stood, stretching his legs, "while you were occupied earlier, I sent Dt. Sykes over to Daniel's apartment to gather belongings. We also had the clothing that Mr. Dunn and Ms. Beck were wearing, tested. Those results should be back soon. But in the meantime, I think we have some questions to ask of dear old dad."

"Fine," she agreed. "Mike, you go in with Lt. Provenza and see what Daniel says. Aside from his name possibly being in Ted Baird's calendar, and Daniel's mistaken belief that Annie has kept their daughter from them, can we prove any other connection? Financial connections? What is Daniel doing for money these days?"

"Looked into that, Captain. He's still doing real estate, at least he's still licensed for that. But currently he's the super at the apartment complex where we found him. No unusual amounts of money through his accounts, no large purchases on his personal statements, nothing to suggest he has another source of income. But the apartment complex does have an agreement to provide units with reduced costs in partnership with a drug rehab. Kind of a halfway house. That could be where Daniel and Sharon Beck met again." Tao looked at her expectantly, awaiting her conclusion.

Sharon looked at the murder board, now uncovered so their newest information could be added. The pieces were falling into place, but she didn't like where those places were. They had to find the killer, and she prayed it would turn out to be anyone but Rusty's parents. She didn't know how he would deal with that knowledge. As it was his entire world has been turned upside down... again.

"Okay everyone, it's just after four in the afternoon. We've been at this too long as it is. Let's start getting some answers. Lts. Provenza and Tao, you speak with Mr. Dunn. When we hear what he has to say on this case, then we can bring Emma in. Dets. Sykes and Sanchez, would you please speak with Ms. Beck, and present her with the evidence we have and the possible conclusions we are drawing. I want her to understand she is inches away from being arrested for murder, if she doesn't tell us the whole story. Rusty is not on the table for either of them, understood? Buzz... we need you."

Nods through the room assured Sharon her team was in full agreement when it came to Rusty's exposure to the people in his past. They left to do their assigned interviews, while Buzz headed to electronics, to monitor everything.

"You know I have to see them at some point, right?" Rusty stood off to the side, looking at her.

Sighing, she nodded, "I know... but I want it to be on your terms, not theirs."

"It will be," he assured her, and Sharon's pride in his maturity grew. "Annie first?"

"Annie first," she agreed, and ushered him into her office.


	17. Daniel's story

Sharon got comfortable in electronics, sitting between Emma Rios and Buzz, as they watched Provenza and Tao interview Daniel.

"Do you have real evidence this time?"

"Emma, I don't need the snark," Sharon didn't bother looking up.

"Captain..."

"No!"

Fortunately Emma took the hint the second time, and remained quiet as the interview started. Sharon was grateful. Emma had said things that angered her but did make her second guess her actions the last time she had an encounter with Daniel. She would continue to question things after they were finished the case, she knew. However now was not the time to revisit history, and the very real situation with Ted Baird needed their attention. Sharon was all too aware how easy it would be to forget about the victim in light of their history with their three suspects.

"So Mr. Dunn," Tao began. "It's five o'clock, and it's been a long day for all of us. You've been read your rights again, so anything you have to tell us is on the record. It's playing for keeps time. We know you knew Mr. Baird, and we have records of you meeting with him quite a few times over the last three years. Do you care to comment before we get into the real questions?"

Daniel sat looking from one to the other. His shoulders were more hunched than they had been earlier in the day, and he seemed on the verge of defeat. "What do you want to know?" he asked them, without any hint of the fury shown that morning.

"How about we start with when you met Ted Baird and why, then we can move along."

Nodding, Daniel twinned his hands together and stared at his fingers.

"He seems broken," Sharon observed out loud.

"He has good reason to be," Emma replied quietly.

Not in any mood to respond, Sharon pursed her lips and kept her sights on the monitors in front of her.

"Ted... Ted was a guy who made mistakes, okay?" Daniel began. "I get that and Annie was a one-strike-you're-out kind of person. Sometimes he was in so much pain from his cancer scars, it hurt to sit down."

"You knew about Mr. Baird's cancer?"

"Yeah... yes, it wasn't my business but Ted wanted me to understand. He needed something to help him with the pain. One time he slipped and Annie saw it, and bamb... she took away his girls."

"And Mr. Baird told you that, that the girls were his and he was never allowed to see them?"

Daniel nodded, "Yeah... yes... he said he loved his girls, and he would never be happy until he had them back."

"And what was your reaction at the time?" Provenza asked.

"My reaction?" Daniel seemed surprised at the question, then his expression turned pensive. "And the time... the girls were three and five, I think, and he creeped me out a little. Annie told me how afraid she was for the girls, and my first reaction was that he would kidnap them. We increased security at the house, I moved in to help watch and protect Meg and Jess, and Annie hired extra staff for her company so she could work more from home. She told me Ted had no legal right to the girls, and I did as she asked." He shrugged the last of his answer.

"But you changed your mind about Mr. Baird?" Tao lead the next question.

"Eventually," Daniel nodded, "after she kicked me out without even an opportunity to explain myself, yeah... I saw things differently. Then when I found out she had my daughter and I wasn't allowed anywhere near her, I was more sympathetic. I called Ted and wanted to talk. I wanted the real deal."

Provenza gestured a few times before asking, "How could you be sure Annie's baby was yours? There could have been someone else?"

"No!" Daniel said emphatically. "Look, Sharon was one thing. When we were kids she enjoyed herself around the school, and I would never have been sure even if I knew about Rusty. But Annie wasn't like that. She was very conservative about our relationship. She did not want to get pregnant until we were married. She was very careful about when we made love. She kept a calendar and notes. No one who is that strict would be sleeping around."

"Interesting," Sharon said as she sat up.

"What I miss?" Andy asked as he entered the room. When Sharon looked up at him in surprise, he put his hand up, "Sykes is in there. Beck wouldn't play nice so they're letting her stew some more. I figured Sykes needed a nicer assignment for awhile."

Sharon nodded and returned to the screen. "Mmm... seems Annie Smyth was very careful not to get pregnant from Daniel."

"Interesting, indeed."

"You don't know the half of it," Sharon assured him.

"So you..." Provenza continued, "a healthy, red-blooded male, had no problem with being put off for one or two weeks a month?"

Daniel glared at the Lieutenant, "Look... I've made mistakes but I'm not a jerk, okay. Women are more than just people to sleep with. I was the one invited into that family, not the other way around. Annie had rules for herself and for her girls. I was there on approval. I was the father those girls needed so much, and Annie and I had an understanding. I loved her, and if that was what made her comfortable, then that's what I did. Look, I made one mistake, one mistake and it cost me everything."

"Just like Ted Baird. One mistake cost him his family, is that correct?"

Daniel rubbed his hand over his mouth, "I... to tell you the truth, I think Ted made a lot of mistakes. I... the guy made me uncomfortable, but if I was ever going to get my daughter, I had to make a pact with him. Two of us were better than one."

"But if you thought Annie was right..." Tao lead him again.

"Look, Annie is harsh. I never realized how harsh until she walked away with nothing, no looking back, no chance to talk about it. I promised to protect the girls, and that never stopped. The minute Ted did something I thought crossed the line, our agreement was done. I don't like with how she does things, but Annie always puts those girls first."

"Sounds like you still love her."

"Yeah... well..." Daniel looked at his hands again, but didn't continue.

Provenza shuffled the papers in front of him, then asked, "If you love Annie so much, why did you hook up with Sharon Beck again?"

At that Daniel whipped his head up. "I did _not_ hook up with Sharon Beck, believe me. I am not stupid. She moved into one of the transition apartments, and I recognized her one day and asked if she remembered me. She didn't," he laughed without mirth, "do you believe that? The father of her son and she didn't remember me."

"So how did you remind her?" Tao asked.

Daniel shook his head, then opened and clasped his hands a few times. "I'd seen the records. She was going to be evicted. She hadn't stopped using, and her boyfriend was around more and more. I'd seen the guy before, a real nasty type. I'd seen them talking to Ted too. I'd bet anything that Ted was supplying Sharon. How's that for irony? Two parts of your life that have nothing to do with each other, but they already have a connection? Anyway, I told Ted to bugger off and leave hear alone. The boyfriend didn't like it and threatened me. So I got cocky and told him without me she'd never see her son again. That seemed to sober her up."

"Great..." Andy muttered.

Sharon kept silent, watching.

Emma looked from one to the other, "We have to find this boyfriend," she announced.

"You think?" came Buzz's sarcastic reply.


	18. Pope

"A visit from the Vatican," Provenza grumbled, making everyone look at the main entryway from the hall outside the Major Crimes offices. Chief Will Pope stood surveying the room. His eyes lit up when they saw Sharon, and he moved towards her.

Flynn was not happy either. "Oh great..." he mumbled.

"Gentlemen, please..." came the quiet reply, then her voice got stronger. "Chief Pope, what an unexpected surprised. I can't remember the last time I saw you in our murder room. Can I help you?"

"A word, Captain," he said, nodding to her office.

Sharon glanced at both men beside her, then around the room, before heading to her office. Pope stood by the door waiting for her, already showing this was more social than business. By rank he entered rooms before she did. But curtesy, he held the door. That unnerved her. She hadn't had a private conversation with him for a very long time.

Once the door was closed, she moved around her desk, "What can I do for you, Chief?"

"How's the case going?" he asked, sitting across from her. He leaned back into the chair, attempting a casual look.

"Well... we still haven't found our killer, but we are pretty sure who we can rule out. Chief, this isn't newsworthy. In fact it's barely a Major Crime, from what I can see. We have some drug dealing, but I'm not sure our victim was a significant player. This seems more about the custody of children then anything. I don't have news for Chief Taylor to announce."

Pope nodded, "Okay, that's the official answer, and I appreciate that, Captain. I know this team and they will get this solved. I'm a little concerned about how long they've been at it, but I'm sure you are monitoring that."

"Yes, Chief. We're all tired, but we want to catch the killer so we can enjoy our weekend."

"Which should be starting now." The message was clear. Pope looked at his watch to underscore the meaning. It was already six o'clock in the evening, and either her people were close to solving it, or they would be sent home to come back after the long weekend, and everyone they were speaking with would have to be placed in holding.

Sharon leaned forward, "A little longer Chief, please. We have to track down a fourth person, and we now know who we're looking for. If nothing happens, then I'll send everyone home. But give us a little more time."

"I want to, Captain, but look at you... Look at all of you. You're exhausted, and I've been keeping my ear on this case, it's getting personal."

She snorted, "Personal..." Then she sat back in her seat and rubbed her hand over her eyes. "Chief..."

"Will," he interrupted.

Sharon sighed, "Will..." There was the personal. "If we stay here or go home, it doesn't matter. None of us will be able to get this case out of our minds. Half my team will sneak back in here, you know that. And I've got children in the next room," she pointed to her closed conference room door. "I have to send them home soon, but I need to speak with their mother again."

"Those the children who's custody is in question?"

"No... well, legally no, the custody will never be questioned. We know who their parents are. Their father is dead, and their mother has full custody, so we don't have to worry about that. No... the problem is our victim seemed to convince himself the two oldest were his daughters and he had a right to them, and then helped convince our second witness that the third daughter was his. And the second witness is the biological father of my Rusty. It's been a very delicate walk here, trying to get answers without promising visitation. As far as Daniel Dunn is concerned, none of these children are even here. We have to keep it that way."

"_Your_ Rusty?"

Sharon closed her eyes, and shook her head... "Chief... don't..."

"Call me by my name, Sharon. We've had enough dinners and shared enough drinks that you can drop rank, haven't we?"

"Fine... Yes... Will... Look, I can't go home right now. Don't shut us down, please." Her pleading betrayed her exhaustion.

Will sat closer to the desk, leaning on it as he looked at her. "I know you, Sharon. You can handle a lot but from what I hear this case is riding very close to Conflict of Interest for you. I also know Jack is back. It didn't take long for that information to reach my office. What can I do for you? Once upon a time I knew, but now..."

"Please don't..." she looked at him, silently begging him to stop pushing her.

"Sharon," he tried again, "I'm not trying to make you do anything you don't want to do. It's not personal anymore. Well... not personal like it used to be, at least. I know we can't make a go of it, but that doesn't mean I don't still care about you. What do you need? What can I do? This has got to be one of the worst days of your career."

She smiled wryly. "I keep thinking this day can't get worse, then I find out I'm wrong. If you want to do something for me, just make Chief Taylor sign off on our overtime. We've already been here four days in the past two. Lieu time after we're done would be nice, as well."

Will nodded, "Okay, I'll make that happen. And about Jack?"

"Don't worry. I have a whole department of people who can get rid of him for me. I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure," she smiled slightly, trying to give strength to her conviction.

"Alright then, Captain," Pope stood up and smoothed his jacket, "I'll await news that your team has been successful again."

"Thank you, Sir," she stood as well.

Together they walked into the murder room. All eyes were on them, waiting for some indication of what happened behind closed doors.

"Carry on, Captain," Chief Pope said crisply, then walked out of the room.

Provenza was the first to approach, and spoke in low rumbles to Sharon. "You and Pope...?" he started, allowing her to fill in the blanks. They were all detectives, so she had no doubt they knew the gossip.

"Don't go there, Lieutenant. I'm not," she gave him a pointed look, and was satisfied when he nodded. "He just wanted to make sure we weren't pushing past the line of exhaustion. We've been at this a long time."

Andy had slowly walked over to join them, not wanting to interrupt, and perhaps not wanting to hear what was said. "Anything I need to know?" he asked, coming to stand close enough to Sharon and Provenza to be part of their quiet conversation.

"His Holiness wanted to make sure we were still functioning."

"Yeah... like we could leave this case now. Okay, what are we gonna do?"

Sharon sighed as she thought about an answer. She really was getting beyond exhaustion and everyone knew it. They weren't handling her with kid gloves, which she appreciated, but they were all waiting for signs that she was going to crack. She wasn't about to give them the satisfaction, but she also knew that she was in safe hands if it did get too much.

"Okay, here's what we'll do. Rusty has gone home for now. I told him not to return, but I know better. He will be back. In the meantime, we need to get Annie and those girls home. She has more information to give us, probably information she doesn't know she has. But it's getting close to bedtime, and the girls need to be home. Andy, you come with me to talk to Annie and see what we can learn. The girls are comfortable with you."

Andy nodded, and crossed his arms to hear what else Sharon had to say.

"Lt. Provenza, I want you and Julio to go at Sharon Beck again. We need to know the name of the boyfriend and find him. If she won't cooperate, I have no problem treating her as hostile. Enough is enough. We can place her at the murder scene, and the more I think about it, the more I realize the only reason she hasn't been arrested yet is because of our feelings towards Rusty. That's not good enough. Read her her rights, explain what's about to happen, let her know Rusty is gone and that she's facing murder charges. I want this done."

"Understood, Captain. And the others?"

"Have Mike monitor you, and sent Buzz for dinner," she said with a slight twinkle in her eye. "Then tell Amy to start looking for evidence of who this boyfriend is, and where he might be. I want to know what connects all these people. It can't just be coincidence."

The three headed off to their various tasks, Provenza barking orders as he went.

Inside Sharon's office, Andy stopped her with his hand on her arm. "Sharon?" he asked, wanting to put so much more into words, but afraid of what that would mean.

"There's nothing," she smiled up at him.

"You sure?"

"Very."


	19. Annie and the girls

"Can we go home now," Jessie flopped down over Andy's lap as soon as he sat down. "It's been hours and hours."

Sharon couldn't help being both amused and bothered, as she watched Andy gently pick the little girl up and cradle her in his arms. It touched her heart to see the little arms twinning around Andy's neck as she buried herself deep into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Sharon looked at Annie. "I know this is very hard on them. Just a few more things and then you can go." Seven o'clock at night really was pushing bedtime.

Annie nodded, shifting the baby in her arms. "Alright, but I don't know what else I can tell you. I don't know anything about what Ted was into."

"I know," Sharon sat down closer to her, trying to keep the girls away from the conversation as much as possible. "Sometimes we find people know more than they think, and if we talk about something else, it will jog your memory. So why don't you tell us about Ted's family. We don't seem to be able to track anyone down."

Annie laughed, "I'm not surprised. His sister left when she was a teenager, and changed her name somewhere before she reached the east coast. I don't even know if she did it legally. Anyway, I never met her. I never even saw a picture of her. Ted's mother is a nut-job, and I mean that. She was institutionalized not long after Ted was diagnosed with cancer. Even if you brought her in, I doubt she could tell you anything. His father was a mystery. I'm not sure Ted even knew who he was. The only one he was close to was his brother, and he was on the road almost as much as Ted was."

Sharon busily wrote everything down, noting to herself how sad Ted Baird's life had been. It's little wonder he wanted to be family with Annie and her girls. They represented more stability than anything else he'd had. "So why do you think he went along with... you know..."

"Honestly? Fantasy, maybe? He knew Matt was my focus, and loosing him was almost the end of me. The girls made me keep going. Matt was so good and kind, and his children needed to be born. A little piece of him had to be alive to make the world a better place. Ted knew that. He knew he was a place holder, nothing more. Someone to help me with the work of raising them, but no one would take Matt's place."

Ideas and questions kept tumbling through Sharon's mind. She wanted so much to get Annie alone and really grill her. Was her holding onto a ghost the best thing for her girls? But then again, was Sharon really in a position to judge anyone else holding on to the past?

"Tell me about the brother."

"Gareth? I only met him once. He came by the house to bring a present for Jess when she was born, and apologized for not meeting me sooner. His life on the road was constant, I guess. I know he and Ted spoke from time to time, but I don't think they saw each other. Ted didn't tell him the truth about the girls. I'm almost certain about that."

"Can you describe him?" Sharon asked, then was distracted by the ping from her phone. She took it from her pocket and looked at the message. Amy had found the boyfriend along with a picture, and informed the Captain she was taking some uniforms with her to bring the man in. 'Good work', Sharon typed quickly, then turned her attention back to Annie.

Sitting back, Annie breathed deeply, trying to bring the memories to the surface. "It's been a long time. What I remember most is that he was dark. Not his skin, but his hair and his clothing, and especially his attitude. He made me feel uncomfortable, and I told Ted."

"And what was Mr. Baird's response to that?"

"I think he laughed and said his brother had that effect on everyone. I told him I didn't want his brother near the girls. He thought I was overdoing it, but he said it was my call."

"Did he have tattoos or scars, or anything distinguishing?" Andy asked. Jessie had fallen asleep on his shoulder, and he was carefully walking her around the room. Sharon wished she could take more than a moment to enjoy the sight.

Annie shrugged. "I don't..."

"He had a scar on his cheek like in the picture," Megan said. She was holding the phone that Sharon had placed on the table. No one noticed her move towards them while they were talking, but the girl's focus was on the phone and not on the reaction from the people around her. She touched the screen and moved the pictures along to the second one Amy had sent. "He came to the house when Mommy was gone one time. He was with our pretend-Daddy, and they came to see Daniel."

Sharon and Andy looked at each other in surprise, then Sharon looked at an ashen Annie. "Meggie," Sharon started gently, "could you tell us what they talked about?"

Megan shook her head. "Daniel didn't let me stay. Jessie and I could only say hi to our pretend-Dad when he came to visit, but he always reminded us that we couldn't tell Mommy about it. He always told us he missed us, and that some day he would have a longer visit."

"Did he say where that longer visit would be?" Andy asked in the same manner Sharon had used with the girl.

"Just our house, I guess," Megan shrugged. "He said Mommy just needed to get used to the idea of him being our real Daddy again, and that Daniel would be our pretend-Daddy then. He said little girls needed Daddies, but it took Mommy a long time to think about those things, so we would let her think. That's why we had to keep the secret, so we wouldn't interrupt Mommy's thinking."

"Oh my god," Annie started to rock back and forth, waking Noni as she squeezed her tightly. The toddler cried, only adding to Annie's stress.

The commotion roused Jessie, who raised her head from Andy's neck. She was pink and a little sweaty, and looked very concerned about her mother. "What's wrong, Mommy?" she squirmed to make Andy put her down.

"Jessie," Sharon hated asking, but she needed to regardless, "do you know this man?"

"Um," the little girl twisted her head and looked at the picture again, squinting slightly. "That's Uncle G. He waved at me when I was in the playground. Why?"

Sharon swallowed, then cleared her throat. "We..." she tried again, "we have to talk to him, that's all. And we are surprised that you know him."

The explanation satisfied Jessie, who turned back to her mother and started making soothing noises as she patted her sister's head.

Megan still held the phone. "Your phone beeped again," she held it up to Sharon.

'He's here, and you won't believe who he is.' Sharon read Sykes' message.

Andy growled, "Oh won't we?"


	20. Sharon, a second time

_**(Rating warning - content of this chapter at T level)**_

Sharon hated to keep the girls longer, but with the new evidence and positive identification by both girls, she had no choice.

"Where?" Andy barked at Sykes when he came into the main room.

"C" was all Sykes responded, and stood back as the Lieutenant and Captain walked into the room.

"So... Uncle G, is it?" Andy snarled as soon as he entered the room.

Sharon patted Andy's arm, reminding him to keep it in line, then the two sat down across from Sharon Beck's boyfriend.

The man in the chair leaned back and smiled. "So, you seen my nieces? How they doing?"

"You don't get to know, asshole!" Andy yelled.

Talking the file and opening it, Sharon looked at the new suspect, and smiled slightly. "Gareth Baird, Uncle G, Sharon Beck's boyfriend Gary, abuser of teenage boys, drug user... my, my... you do get around."

"And around, and around, and around," the last was said suggestively, as he stared first at Sharon's breasts, then slowly made his way up to her eyes.

"I see you want to add sexually harassing a police officer to your docket."

Gary shrugged, "Whatever... looks like you'd be worth the effort."

"That's enough, Asshole!" Andy raised from his chair and leaned across the table, resting his knuckles to keep his balance. This time Sharon didn't stop him. "You tell the Captain what she wants to know, and then you wipe that slimy smirk off your face, 'cause you ain't going anywhere anytime soon."

Gary just smiled again, this time a dimple appeared on the check that wasn't scared. Sharon could see how the man would be considered attractive, if he wanted to show a nicer side. "So long as I got this lusty bitch to deal with, I'm all good. Or maybe that nice piece of ass that brought me in. I bet she'd be real flexible."

Sharon could feel Andy wanting to erupt beside her, and hoped he would remember to contain himself. She'd heard worse in her years on the force, and knew she needed to put him in his place. Snorting, she rolled her eyes, "I can't believe any woman would be stupid enough to fall for that garbage. I guess that's why you have to hook them on drugs in order to see any action."

That seemed to get his attention. "So," he squirmed, "I like to watch. So what?"

Andy took a moment, then started to chuckle, shaking his head. "Performance issues? That must have been a pain in the ass, huh? Can't please a woman, but your brother with half his junk gone, knows how to do it?" When Gary dropped his pretense a little further, Andy stood up straight and smiled like a cheshire cat. "Yeah, we know all about your girlfriend needing your brother to enjoy herself. Keeping it all in the family can get a little uncomfortable, don't you think?"

"You don't know anything," Gary snapped at them.

Sharon and Andy looked at each other, then she stood and walked to the door that Andy held open for her. Lt. Tao walked in as they left.

"That's one," Sharon said, looking straight ahead and walking swiftly to the next interview room.

Andy stepped ahead of her and opened the door, then the two of them entered the room where Sharon Beck had been pacing. Julio, as always, was standing at ease against the wall. His face was blank, but his eyes showed he was glad to see his superior officers.

Sharon threw the file on the table, and place her hands on her hips, then she glared at Beck. "You were doing drugs that Gary brought you, even though you were in housing provided by your rehab. Daniel tried to warn you, because he knew you were an inch away from getting evicted again. You decide Daniel is the best way back to Rusty, since DCFS certainly wasn't going to play ball without informing me first. And even though you've stayed with Gary all these years, choosing him over your son again and again, you still decided sleeping with his brother was going to get you what you wanted? Are you for real? Did you think adding kidnapping to your string of abandonment charges, was going to make everything better?"

Beck stopped pacing and looked at the woman glaring at her. Both Sharon and Andy could see she'd struck a cord, as her colour paled a little. "Kidnapping? I don't know nothing about kidnapping?"

"Oh... Don't you? Weren't you in on the plans to kidnap the little girls both Daniel and Ted believed to be their daughters? What was it, sons didn't interest you and Gary, but little girls could be a whole world of fun? With Gary's sexual disfunction, I'm scared to even think what you two wanted to do with those girls."

"Wait a god damned minute," Beck said, leaning over the table and glaring at Sharon. "I'm not that kind of person. I don't hurt kids. I was a good mother to Rusty when he needed me. I didn't do nothing to those girls. I didn't even know Gary was going to take them."

Sharon held back her comment on being a good mother to Rusty, and stared down the woman, waiting for her to continue. It didn't take long.

"Don't make me that kind of monster. I don't hurt kids! Ted was good in bed, that's all. Him and I liked a good hook-up. Gary couldn't pay him once, so Ted said he'd take me in payment. We needed the drugs, so I did it. I didn't think I'd like it, but I was wrong, so that's the way we paid for our drugs after that. Look, Gary, he's kinda different, but he knew what I needed. He always got the stuff. Ted would come through town, stay for a few days. We'd get down to business, and everyone was happy. I thought Gary would be upset after awhile with me enjoying our arrangement, but one night he came in and watched." Beck shrugged, looking off to the side in memory. "He liked what he saw, and I liked the audience. So Ted came more often.

"Then Ted said he was working on a deal to make us all rich, and if we come back to LA, we can all share. He said he had this friend who understood, and we'd all be in it together."

"Daniel was that friend?" Andy asked.

Beck's turned her attention to Andy, "Maybe. Daniel is an idiot. Tell him the sky is pink and he'll believe you. Tell him he'll make a million dollars, and he'll invest. Tell him he'll get his fantasy woman, and he'll do whatever you say. The guy is a total loser."

"You didn't think that when he became the father of your son," Sharon reminded her, barely hiding the contempt in her voice.

"Choose him?" Beck laughed, "I did half the football team within a few weeks. How was I supposed to know that his swimmers were the strongest? That's the only thing Daniel has to give a woman. The guy is a tool. Ted got him a job at the apartment, and right under his nose, he's dealing to all the people in the half-way units.

"So, let me get this straight..." Andy crossed his arms, and looked at Sharon Beck, "You're telling me Daniel Dunn wasn't worth remembering and wouldn't even be able to tie his shoes unless someone told him. You're saying your boyfriend, Gary, was Ted Baird's brother. And Ted played Daniel like a fiddle, promising him all sorts of things that he had no intention of doing. Ted and you were doing the nasty, and Gary liked to watch, and then... he didn't like to watch anymore?"

Sharon Beck squirmed, and Raydor laid her hands on Andy's arm to silence him. "Gary shot Ted, not because of the drugs or the kidnapping, but because he started to hate the fact that you were enjoying sex with his brother. You were in the room and watched Gary murder Ted."

In front of them, Sharon Beck deflated as she sat down. The fight was gone.

Andy leaned over the table and pushed the legal pad towards Sharon Beck. "Write it all down, all of it. Right from the time you got off the bus two years ago instead of coming back to town. Or we can read you your rights, and you can call a lawyer, and you'll still have to tell us what happened. We've got all the evidence we need to charge you with first degree murder, so I suggest you try to convince us why we shouldn't do that. Don't leave anything out."

Sharon looked up from her seat, and licked her lips. Her face showed her fear. For the first time all day, the haughty woman who thought she was controlling things disappeared, replaced by the realization of the seriousness of her legal troubles.

A knock on the door startled all of them, then Tao stuck his head in. "We have a winner, Captain."

"Make that two," Sharon said, looking at her watch. "It's just past 8 o'clock. We might actually get home before midnight."


	21. Rusty moving forward

Rusty walked into the murder room at a determined pace, something he'd picked up from Sharon over the years. The soft soles of his sneakers didn't register his arrival the way her heals always did, but the effect of his sudden appearance had the team sit up for a whole other reason. All of them had hoped he would stay away until everything was finalized. But each of them knew that had been too much to ask, given the witnesses that had been in the offices all afternoon.

Before he could get out the question, "Where's Sharon?", he was stopped cold. Coming towards him where Andy and Daniel. Neither had seen him, and he was struck by how sad Daniel looked. He had spoken to Annie earlier, and they had come to an understanding. Maybe it was time for him to do the same thing with the man who hadn't really wanted to give him away.

When he looked up, Daniel stopped. He hadn't seen Rusty in almost two years, and had given up hope of seeing him at the police station. The two stared at each other, and Rusty saw the light in Daniel's eyes change into wariness. He had every right, Rusty knew, feeling his hands become clammy. Not sure what to do, he continued staring. It was Daniel who moved past Andy and finally held out his hand to shake his son's.

"It's nice to see you, Rusty. How have you been?"

Such innocent questions, and to an outsider they would seem like nothing, but Rusty felt the rush of nervous energy go through him. He saw Andy and the rest were not moving Daniel along, which Rusty understood meant they wanted this meeting to happen. He knew the whole team would protect him from danger, they'd proven it many times, but they weren't going to protect him from life. In silence, they were all encouraging him to reconnect with his father. Now at 18, legalities were out of the way. This was a meeting of men.

Then another thought occurred to Rusty. If Andy and the rest of the team were not moving Daniel along, then he was not responsible for the murder they had spent the day investigating. Rusty couldn't believe the relief he felt, and immediately stuck out his hand. "Hi... I'm good, I guess. You leaving?"

"Yeah... yeah," Daniel nodded, looking around the room then returning his gaze to Rusty. "Yeah, wrong place at the wrong time, I guess. Wrong people, too."

"They see a lot of that around here."

"Yeah, I guess they do. I read about the trial online. I'm glad that's over for you."

"Yeah," Rusty put his hands in his pockets, "you and me both."

Sounds of a door opening and something banging the wall startled both of them, then the unmistakable sound of heals on the tiles. Both men turned towards the commotion. Neither were prepared for the shrieking sounds of 'Daniel', as two little girls ran in their direction.

Sharon knew Rusty would return to the offices. She didn't want his world to change, but events and conversations through the day had set her on a journey of reconsidering what she thought she knew, and second guessing her choices two years ago. Had she done the right thing for him? Had she really looked at all sides in the situation? Had her gain meant an even greater loss to others? All of those questions came unbidden as she watched the uneasy conversation between Rusty and Daniel. She had been so caught up in things, that she hadn't turned to tell Annie that Daniel was in the murder room. The girls had led the way out of the room, and that way ran directly into the arms of the man who knelt down and was hugging them.

"We miss you."

"Why did you go away?"

"I lost my tooth."

"Did you see the bad man?"

"Carry me, I'm tired."

As she watched, Sharon listened and caught the unmistakable hitch in Annie's throat. Turning, she looked at the younger woman who looked like she was struggling with how to stop the reunion. Sharon knew she had to say something before more children were hurt.

"Annie," she said softly, getting her attention, "I know you wish Matt was here, but he's not. And no one is ever going to be as good a father as you imagined he would be. Even him. I know you want to keep him alive for your girls, but I also know a little something about holding on to hope long after you should. I didn't let go of the past when I should have, and my children have those scars.

"But Daniel..."

Sharon shook her head. It was now or never. "Daniel is not involved in this murder, and he never wanted to give up Rusty. I forced him."

At Annie's look of bewilderment, Sharon sighed and continued. "At the time I didn't know Daniel, I only knew that Rusty was very upset at the idea of living with him. You had passed judgement on him, Daniel's reaction had been hitting Rusty for upsetting you. I took that opportunity to threaten Daniel. He could either go to jail or give up Rusty. At the time I thought it was the right thing to do. Now... I'm not so sure. And Annie, I rarely second guess myself."

Annie shook her head, trying to understand what Sharon was telling her. "I don't understand... he said..."

"It doesn't matter what he said. He knew he was going to loose you and those girls no matter what, and he'd already lost the son he just met. But you know... he wasn't working with all the truth either, was he."

Sharon looked intently, and Annie slowly nodded. "What have I done?" she gasped.

"It's not too late. Look at them."

The two women turned back to look at the group gathered in front of them. Daniel was still on his haunches, with his arm around Jessie as she clung tightly to his neck. He had Megan's hand in his, smiling as he spoke with her. Rusty stood close by, not sure how to react, but neither was he moving away.

"I don't know..." Annie said, speaking in low terms.

"If I can give you some advise," Sharon started, "sometimes the person who admits their mistakes and works to change, is far better than the person who pretends they never make mistakes in the first place."

"And you think I'm..."

"I think you've tried to protect yourself for too long, and it's time to move forward. I've learned something about Daniel today. He doesn't always make the best choices, but he always tries to put the children he loves first. Sound familiar?"

As they were speaking, Daniel stood, picking up Jessie as he did. She was not letting go. "Annie," he nodded by way of a greeting. "I didn't know you were here."

"I have to tell the judge I saw that bad man with our pretend-Daddy. The one who came to the park and said he was Uncle-G," Megan told Daniel. She still held his hand.

"What?" Daniel looked concerned from Megan to Annie, and then to Sharon.

Sharon wished it could be different. "I'm afraid Megan is a witness. Ted and his brother Gary, told the girls they would be spending time with them, soon. She said she saw him at their house with you one day."

"I'll do it," Daniel said firmly, "I'm not having another one of my children..." he stopped and closed his eyes, then took a steadying breath. "I'm not having another child I care about, become a witness in the court system. Whatever you need, I'll tell you."

"Did you know what they were planning for the girls?" Sharon asked the question, trying for a balance between clarity for Daniel, but still vague for the girls.

"Legal action only," Daniel replied. "Visitation and sharing, that is all I was part of. Were they going to..." Daniel shook his head, "No," he said firmly, "definitely not. I will tell you everything later, but Megan will not be needed."

Sharon nodded, "Okay... thank you for that. I think we can all agree that is the best course of action. If we can't get an acknowledgement of guilt from Gary, I will need to follow up. But now, it's time to get these girls home."

Daniel's attention shifted to Annie, and then the toddler in the stroller. "Her name is Noni," Annie started, "Naomi."

"She's beautiful," he said, his voice husky.

"Ah... listen," Andy moved forward, having watched it all. "It's late and you're exhausted. I can leave here for a little bit and drive you home, as long as that's okay with you, Captain?"

Sharon was just about to speak when Daniel interrupted, "Let me..." he said, shifting Jessie's weight on his hip. "I'd like to help... if you'd let me."

The air went out of the room for a moment, then Annie licked her lips and nodded. "I'd like that... then maybe we can talk?"

"Tomorrow," Daniel said with more confidence, as he smiled. "We can talk tomorrow. You need to get some rest, too." Then he turned to Rusty, "It was nice seeing you again, Rusty. I'm glad everything worked out for you."

"Um, yeah... thanks," Rusty stumbled over his words, "uh... maybe we could, you know... play chess in the park sometime?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'd like that," Daniel's smile widened, then pulled out a business card. "You can reach me whenever you'd like. Your choice, though. No pressure."

Rusty looked at the card, then held it up, "I'll call soon. It's just good manners, right?"

"Good manners," Daniel laughed. "I remember. Okay, well..." he looked around the room. "I never come in here without something big happening. Guess this was no exception."

"I'll walk you out," Sharon said, putting her arm lightly on Annie's shoulder.

Andy moved to join them. "Yeah, me too. We gotta make arrangements to get everyone where they need to be."

Rusty said his final goodbyes, and watched while they left.

It was after nine by the time they finished helping Annie and the girls into their van, and made sure an officer would drive Daniel's car to the house. Andy and Sharon watched them pull out of the parking lot. "How you doing?" he asked.

Sharon sighed. "I don't know. For so long Daniel and Annie were the enemies and my job was to protect Rusty. Now they're just two lonely people who love the same children and haven't been completely honest with themselves or each other. And in the middle of that, I created a disaster. This day was bad to start with, but now I've got guilt on top of it."

"Hey," he said gently, reaching under her hair to rub her neck again. Somewhere along the way he discovered the action soothed her. "You did what you thought was right at the time. Daniel did still hit the kid, remember? Look, hindsight always makes us think of the woulda, coulda, shouldas, and that never changes. But look at what you did here tonight? You helped them fix it. And you saw Rusty. He's open to the idea of talking to his father, and he's happy about that. It's all working out. And if everyone can step up to the plate like adults, and be real, then maybe those little girls will have a Daddy after all."

"Yes... you're right..." she sighed, not sounding convinced in the least.


	22. Jack, for the last time

Sharon and Andy slowly returned to the murder room. Although they had solved the case and had the murderer in custody, they still had things to wrap up.

"Would someone please tell DDA Rios that we are ready for her," Sharon said as she walked in.

Andy went to the board and uncovered it, now that the girls were gone home.

"Um, Sharon," Rusty approached her, acting agitated.

Sharon stopped and looked at him, asking, "What's wrong, Honey? Was all of that too much?"

She put her hand on his shoulder, and tried to escort him into her office, all the while watching as he got more animated.

"No... Sharon... Look, that was weird, but it was fine. Talking to Annie made me think a lot about Daniel and what I did, what we did. I mean I did kinda ruin his life. But I think he forgives me."

"Oh Honey," she smiled at him, "I think he forgave you a long time ago. I think one day he even might forgive me."

"Yeah... but I'm the one who insisted we push him to give up his rights."

"And I'm the one who made it happen. Listen Rusty, I've been over this with Lt. Flynn, and I have no answers. It's okay if you don't have answers either. Are you going to call him?"

Rusty shifted from one foot to the other. Even though he was now legally of age, there was still so much of the forlorn little boy that she loved so much. "Do you think I should? I mean..." he said hastily, "do you think he really wants me to? I don't know any more."

Smiling at him, she wiped the hair across his forehead. Even though he wore his hair shorter now then he had when he first came to her, the gesture stayed the same. "I know he would. And I think it would make you feel better, too."

"Yeah, I guess... Annie is actually nice and kinda understanding. That's weird."

"Good weird, I hope. I find I like her," Sharon shrugged. "Who'd have thought that possible? Sometimes people need second chances to make a first impression."

Rusty became agitated again, and turned from Sharon to pace the room. "Yeah... second chances..." he started. "About that..."

"Honey, what is it?" she asked softly. It was so obvious he was uncomfortable with the message he had come to deliver. Finally he stopped and looked at her, pleading for her not to be angry.

"Look... I'm sorry. Really sorry. I should never have let Jack in last night, and I'm sorry."

"Oh Rusty... I know, you did what you thought was right. I'm not mad."

"Yeah... well, maybe you should be."

"Why?" she sat down, worried about what he was going to say.

Rusty sat down beside her, getting close enough to touch her with his knees, yet far enough that his animated hands wouldn't hit her. "I got home a while ago, and he was going through the closet."

"What closet?"

"The front one."

"Why does that matter? I don't see the significance."

"He found the sweater, you know... the sweater Lt. Flynn left with you a few months ago. I put it in the closet thinking you'd see it the next time you went out, but you never did. I forgot about it, but Jack found it.

Sharon still wasn't understanding why Rusty was so upset. "It's just a sweater, Honey. It's okay. I don't care that Jack found it or you found it..."

"Yeah... but Jack cared," Rusty interrupted her. "I came down here to tell you, and to warn you. I thought calling wouldn't be enough. He's mad. Like really mad."

"Over a sweater?" Sharon was perplexed. "Why should he care about that?"

"Don't you get it, Sharon," Rusty's hands started waving around again, "the locked door, the sweater, turning him down for lunch, and then he found the legal papers Gavin dropped off... It's Flynn's sweater. It even has his last name inside."

Sharon sat back, "Oh for heaven't sake, so what? Andy let me wear that sweater and I forgot to give it back."

"Well... there's more to it," Rusty's anxiety ratcheted up. "I... Look, I got mad too. I mean how does he think he can disappear and just show up like nothing happened? Like my mom always does. So I yelled at him."

Sitting up, Sharon started to get uncomfortable, "What did you yell, Rusty?"

"I just... I wanted him to back off, okay. I wanted him to leave you alone, that's all. I'm sorry."

"Whatever it is, Rusty, it's Jack," she said in a matter-of-fact manner. "Over the years he's accused me of just about everything. I appreciate you wanting to protect me, but you don't have to hide. Ricky has said somethings to him over the years as well. My boys protect me," she smiled at him. "It's not necessary, but it warms my heart, regardless. Let me guess, Jackson has decided Andy is his rival, and wants to do something about it."

"Um... yeah," Rusty said, sitting back deflated. "How'd you guess?"

Sharon snorted, then pointed to the window. Both of them looked to see Jack entering with a bouquet of flowers almost as big as his chest. "It's like chess, Rusty," she continued quietly. "He thinks his king and queen are safe, but I declared check mate years ago."

"What do you think you're doing here?" Andy tried to head Jack off at the pass.

"I'm here to collect my wife."

"Yeah," Andy chuckled, "I don't think so. We're working here. Why don't you find something else to do and leave her alone."

"Wouldn't you like that," Jack snarled.

Rusty and Sharon watched the exchange from her office. Rolling her eyes, she rose to deal with the situation before it got out of hand.

"Looks like the knight is protecting the queen," Rusty said absently.

Sharon looked at him perplexed, "That can happen?"

"No," he snorted, earning another eye-roll.

"Jack, what are you doing here? It's ten o'clock, and we have a case to finish up. I don't need the disturbance."

Huffing, he glared at her, "Then you tell your attack dog to stand down!"

"Attack dog?" Sharon's eyebrows went up through her bangs while her voice lowered.

Andy placed the file he had been holding on his desk, then crossed his arms and moved closer to Sharon. "I think you'd better leave, Raydor."

"Or what?" Jack challenged Andy.

"Or I'll have these nice officers cart you away for disturbing the peace and harassing your wife, like should have happened last night when you pulled your bullshit!" Andy's voice got louder as he spoke. He also moved closer to Jack, putting himself physically between the two. "Get out!" he yelled again.

Jackson put the flowers in one arm, and tried to get into Andy's face, "No one, and I mean no one, comes between me and Sharon. Do you get that?"

"You heard?" a voice said, interrupting them. "Jackie, I didn't know you cared that much. How'd you know I was here, anyway?"

Startled, all eyes turned to see Sharon Beck looking at Jackson Raydor.

"Now that's interesting," Tao said. He'd been walking her out to the conference room to meet with her court appointed lawyer, and get the charges against her dropped in exchange for ninety days of isolated rehab. Sharon had given them everything they needed to charge Gary with second degree murder.

Shaking him off, Sharon walked towards Jack, smiling. "You bring these for me, Jackie? I never thought you knew my whole name."

"You... and him?" Andy pointed from one to the other.

Sharon had yet to recover beside him, but Rusty was fully prepared to be disgusted. "That's got to be the grossest thing in my life. My mother and Sharon's husband," he groaned. "Oh god..."

"What is he talking about, Jackie?" Beck asked, her smile fading.

"Yes, _Jackie_, what were you going to say about ownership and fidelity in our legal separation?" Sharon was back in control.

"I... uh..." Jack stood speechless, looking at Sharon Beck. "I haven't seen you since Vegas. What are you doing here?"

"Jackie Ray?" Beck started, her voice growing colder by the second. "Jackie Raydor? Jack, Sharon Raydor's husband? You got a thing for Sharons, you son of a bitch," she spat.

"Come on," Tao grabbed her arm again, and tried to steer her away.

"You're an asshole, you hear me!" Beck screamed at the top of her lungs.

Andy started to chuckle, "On my worst day, I can't be as bad as you."

"Andy!" Sharon's voice warned, then turned away in disgust.

"Yeah, coming," he smirked at Jack, then turned to follow her, ignoring what the tone really meant.

Rusty stood alone in by the door as it closed, looking first at his mother, then towards Sharon's door while Andy closed the blinds, and finally at Jack himself.

"Ewwww..."


	23. Provenza wrapping it up

"Jack, Jack, Jack..." Provenza chuckled as he shook his head at the disheveled man. "Do you really think sitting outside her door is going to make it all go away?"

"I'm not in the mood."

Provenza gestured expansively, "Well none of us are in the mood, that's what a long day and convoluted case does to people. If you actually worked for a living, you might realize that."

"Enjoying yourself?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. It's after eleven, the deal is signed, another murderer has been put away, a drug addict might get the help she needs, a family looks like they're on their way to being restored... yeah, I'd say it's a very good job done. You know..." he chuckled again, "two years ago I was in that very office, threatening resignation because this was the way the mighty Captain Raydor wanted to run this division. I couldn't see the point of deals, and I certainly didn't think they were justice. But here, today, I can say I was wrong. I was wrong! Deals might not be the perfect solution, but they move things along. So why don't you accept the deal you've been dealt, and move things along?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you... Jackson Raydor just fades away, and the rest of you can pretend I never existed."

"Most of us don't care if you existed or not, to tell you the truth. As for the Captain, she has two children who remind her daily that you were a part of her past. All she's trying to do is keep the past in the past. You showing up unannounced, pretending nothing has happened since you last left... you, my friend, are delusional."

Heals clipped the floor, coming towards them, and both men looked. Provenza could see anticipation in Jack's face, but he knew that was not the rhythm of the Captain's walk. "Ah... DDA Rios," he said, as he turned, "I thought you had dealt with everything and were gone for the night."

"No... Lieutenant," she replied, marginally annoyed. "I have to speak with Captain Raydor, and make sure we have all the paperwork in order."

Provenza shook his head in exasperation, "Emma, it's the long weekend. The dirtbag is heading to county. There is plenty of time to dot the I's and cross the T's next week. It's not like the paperwork is going to be filed before Tuesday. Relax... go home... get some sleep, and enjoy your weekend."

Emma sighed, then crossed her arms. She had been around long enough to know when the members of the squad were being helpful, and when they were trying to get in her way. "Where is Captain Raydor?" she asked, sure she knew the answer.

Shrugging, the lieutenant smiled, and reached out to grab Emma's shoulder in an attempt to turn her towards the main doors.

"Not so fast..." Emma resisted, then looked at Jack Raydor. "I assume you're waiting for the Captain, too?" she said with barely hidden disgust.

"What is it with you people?" Jack snapped.

"You people?"

Jack glared at the woman, then lowered his head.

"What's his problem?" she asked, looking at Provenza.

"Well, we've had two Sharon's here today, and let's just say he's on more familiar terms with the other one."

Emma looked at the lieutenant confused, then her expression began clearing towards understanding. Her final expression was horrified, as she looked at Jack again. "You were sleeping with Rusty's mother?" she accused, looking as though she wanted to vomit at the realization.

Jack raised his head and glared at her again, "I didn't know who she was, alright!"

"And you think that makes it better?"

He continued glaring at Emma, then turned quickly in the seat and got up. "I'm going to see Sharon, and none of you can stop me!" he announced.

"You won't get far going that way, Sir," Sanchez came down the hall, having heard the last of the conversation. Then he looked at Provenza, "Can you sign this, Sir. It's my final report and I'd like to get out of here."

"Umm..." Emma looked from the lieutenant to the detective, "isn't that Captain Raydor's job?"

"Yes, when she's here," Julio answered her, then turned to Provenza. "She left some time ago, Sir. Do you want me to wait until she gets back?"

Provenza took the file from Julio, and shook his head as he looked it over. "No... she's had a horrible day with next to no sleep. I can handle this.

The sound of a door banging against the wall startled everyone. Jack had barged into Sharon's office only to find it empty, just as Julio had said. Seeing the door to the smaller conference room, he barged in there as well, only to find the slightly stale smell of leftover food, and toys scattered over the floor that hadn't been put away properly. None of the doors was open.

Frantically he looked around, pulling out drawers in her credenza and desk.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" Provenza yelled at him, moving to stop the man from his search. "There are confidential files all over this room and you have no right to look at them... none what so ever."

Julio rushed through the doors, and grabbed Jack's arms, then forced him back into the main room.

"You!" Provenza wagged his finger in Jack's face, "you get the hell out of here. I don't want to see or hear of you being anywhere near this station or the Captain's home or anywhere else she frequents, or by God I will charge you with everything I can think of."

The two men stared at each other, glaring like two lions ready to pounce. Neither wanted to back down, but one of them was bound and the pain began getting to him. Provenza saw surrender in the other man's eyes, and nodded to Julio to let go. "You used to be better than this, Jack. Back when it mattered."

Without a word to anyone in the room, Jack straightened up, adjusted his shirt and jacket, then grabbed the flowers he had placed on Flynn's desk, and walked out the door. He attempted an air of dignity, but everyone in the room knew how little self-respect he was able to capture.

On the way out the door, Jack and Andy crossed paths. Their shared glare left nothing to the imagination.

"Do you know where the Captain is?" Provenza asked as Andy came closer.

Scratching the back of his head, Andy nodded, "Yeah... she and Sykes took Rusty's mom to the rehab. She figured after all the hits today, Sharon Beck needed to have someone who was a little kinder."

"Raydor... the Kind One..." Provenza started sarcastically, "who would have thought!" Then he looked around, "Okay kids, this playground is closed. Take your toys and go home."

One by one they filed out, turning off lights as they went.


	24. Andy

"It's so dark in here," Sharon said, walking back into the offices. She heard his rumbling laugh before she saw him in the pale light of his desk lamp. "I'm surprised you stayed."

"Gotta do my share of the heavy lifting," he replied, still not looking up. "Provenza sent everyone else home about forty minutes ago."

"And you didn't go?"

"Nah... besides, I've got a little bit left in me and I'd rather not have it all facing me next week."

Sharon smiled, "Nice try..."

Andy grinned and shrugged, still not looking up. "So what's your excuse, anyway? I thought you'd seen enough of this place for a month at least."

"Mmm... it feels that way sometimes." She sat down on the edge of Syke's desk and pushed back, dangling her feet towards the floor. Her shoes fell off, and she left them, too weary to worry about bare feet.

Together they sat in companionable silence, Andy typing away on his laptop while Sharon replayed the events of the day. Finally he broke the silence, "I can hear you thinking from here, ya know."

"Hear me? That's rich."

Yeah, well... I'm a talented guy. So..." he swiveled around, and shifted in his chair, stretching his long legs in front of him and clasping his hands in his lap. "Talk to me."

"Talk," she snorted, "I don't know where to begin. I think every single person I've had issues with in the past two years, decided they all had to be friends and today was the day they chose to tell me. I mean really... who else could have walked through that door to make my life difficult?"

"I was kinda thinking as things go, today worked out pretty well."

"Oh... and how, pray tell, have you come to that conclusion?"

"Well... Daniel and Annie are talking and might be able to give those girls a full family. That's one. Rusty is thinking about having a relationship with them instead of always having a questions mark in his head. That's two. Beck is back in town and might get the help she needs, so Rusty doesn't need to worry so much about her either. That's three. We got the murderer, who just happens to be the guy that hurt Rusty and kept his mom on the road. That's four. With everyone showing up all at once, he said he was going home and didn't doubt for a minute where 'home' was. That's five."

"And Jack?"

Andy didn't answer. Instead he stood up, pulled his phone out of his pocket to place on his desk, then he took his jacket off.

Sharon grew uncomfortable with the silence. "I appreciate you trying to make things better, but today really was the worst day in a very long time. Well... second worst. Rusty almost getting killed was worse."

"Yesterday..." Andy said.

"What?" she watched him toe off his shoes, they reach out for her hand. Taking it, he pulled her gently off the desk and towards him.

"Yesterday was the second worst day of your life. Today is full of new possibilities. By my watch, it's ten minutes after midnight, and a whole new day.

Sharon smiled when she realized what he was trying to do, then she heard the faint strains of Sinatra coming from his phone. Willingly she went into his arms, resting her cheek against his shoulder as he pulled her closer.

_...The best is yet to come and babe, won't it be fine..._

Though low, the music filled the air around them. Andy tried to hum along with the tune, but he was horribly off key, bringing a smile to Sharon's face. Picking up the pace, he twirled them around a little, before slowing down again. Swaying to the music, they both let out a long held sigh.

"We've got to do this more often," she said, eyes closed and enjoying the moment. She could feel his arm around her waist tighten, pulling her closer.

_... Wait till I draw you near. Wait till you see that sunshine place, ain't nothin like it here..._

"Mmm-hmm..." he hummed his agreement, and twirled them once more.

_~ Fin_


End file.
